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Staff Report
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Report To: Special Council
Date of Meeting: February 27, 2023 Report Number: PDS-009-23
Submitted By: Carlos Salazar, Director of Planning and Infrastructure Services
Reviewed By: Mary -Anne Dempster, CAO Resolution#: C-046-23
File Number: PLN 11.27 By-law Number:
Report Subject: Housing Pledge for 13,000 Units by 2031 in Response to Minister's Order
Recommendations:
1. That Report PDS-009-23 Housing Pledge for 13,000 Units by 2031 in Response to
Minister's Order, be received;
2. That the action items in Report PDS-009-23 (Attachment 1), be endorsed as
Clarington's Housing Pledge to support the acceleration of housing supply in
Ontario, subject to the following conditions:
a. That the Province and the Durham Region deliver the infrastructure
improvements to support the Provincial target of 13,000 units for Clarington
by 2031;
b. That the Municipality not be penalized financially or otherwise, for failing to
meet the identified as the housing targets are subject to market conditions,
supply, labour issues, etc.; and
c. That the Province consults and engages with local municipalities on future
legislative changes in order to understand the financial and logistical
implications to deliver housing units quickly.
3. That a copy of this report and Council's resolution be sent to the Honourable
Minister Steve Clark, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing by March 1, 2023,
and a copy also be sent to the Region of Durham, area municipalities and the AMO.
4. That the Mayor be authorized to sign the Clarington Housing Pledge on behalf of
Council.
Municipality of Clarington
Report PDS-009-23
Report Overview
Page 2
Clarington has been assigned 13,000 new residential units to be built by 2031 to address the
Minister's Order which assigned housing targets to 29 rapidly growing municipalities across
Ontario. This report has been prepared as a pledge to the Province that Clarington will strive
to support the Ontario Government's initiative to build 1.5 million new homes over the next
decade, provided that the Province and the Region of Durham deliver key infrastructure like
sewer and water to support the target.
1. Background
1.1 On October 25, 2022, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, issued a Minister's
Order to 29 large and rapidly growing Ontario municipalities, including Clarington, to
sign a Housing Pledge in order to meet the Provincial Government's target of providing
1.5 million new homes in the next decade (Province ERO bulletin No. 019-6171).
1.2 Clarington has been assigned 13,000 new units as a target which would need to be
endorsed by Council in order to deliver the pledge to the Provincial government by the
March 22, 2023, deadline.
1.3 The pledge is an opportunity to provide important information that showcases the
strategies and actions that municipalities choose to undertake in order to prioritize and
accelerate housing. The Ontario Government plans to use these pledges from the 29
municipalities to monitor and track progress so the Province can support municipalities
and remove any barriers to housing development. It will be important to highlight any
barriers through this process as the Ontario Government is making a commitment to
assist in removing those barriers in order to deliver its promise to deliver 1.5 million new
homes by 2031.
1.4 This report provides a summary of Clarington's initiatives that have either recently been
completed, are underway, and proposed, in order to support the Provincial target and
provide more housing. Specific action items are identified in Attachment 1. This, in
combination with Council's resolution on the matter, would be considered Clarington's
Municipal Housing Pledge.
1.5 Based on the number of units already proposed in subdivisions and site plan
applications, staff believe the 13,000 units is an achievable goal, subject to market
conditions and availability of regional infrastructure (i.e. sewer, water, roads).
1.6 Additionally, given the 12 Secondary Plans, either underway or recently approved in
Clarington, and the planned higher densities around the two future GO train station
areas, there is enough land in the existing urban area to accommodate 13,000 units by
2031. However, the delivery of these units is highly dependant on many other external
factors and influences, such as market conditions, commitments from the building
community, and public investment in infrastructure.
Municipality of Clarington Page 3
Report PDS-009-23
1.7 Further, a 35-hectare (86-acre) parcel of land located at the northeast corner of Nash
Road and Hancock Road (known as the Tanenbaum lands) was removed from the
Greenbelt as part of the Province's November 2022 Greenbelt Plan amendments to
provide for residential development in the short-term. These lands must achieve
significant progress in the development approvals process by the end of 2023 and start
home construction on the lands by 2025, therefore contributing to the 2031 housing
target. Additional information about the Greenbelt Plan amendments was presented in
PDS-059-22.
1.8 It is also important to note that an increase in housing supply may seem like a simple
solution to this complex housing crisis but the means to delivering more affordable and
attainable housing for Ontario residents is a much more difficult undertaking and would
require a further in-depth analysis into the contributing factors. Furthermore, the
Province did not set a target for the portion of units which are to be affordable housing
in the pledge.
Summary of Recent Changes contained in Bill 13, Bill 23, and Bill 109
1.9 In addition to the housing pledge, the Province introduced a series of legislative and
non -legislative changes to "unlock more housing, streamline development approvals,
remove barriers, accelerate planning and further protect homebuyers".
Proposed Delegation of Authority (Bill 13)
1.10 Bill 13, the Supporting People and Businesses Act, 2021, received royal assent
December 2, 2021. The Bill made changes to the Planning Act, Municipal Act, 2001 and
City of Toronto Act, 2006, that enables Council to, by a by-law, delegate the authority to
pass by-laws under section 34 of the Planning Act (Zoning By-laws) that are of a minor
nature to a committee of Council, or an individual who is an officer, employee or agent
of the municipality. This is detailed further in Section 4 of this report. Council previously
authorized Staff to proceed with the OPA to delegate additional authorities on
December 12, 2022 through report PDS-051-22 (resolution PD-105-22).
Changes To the Planning Act and Development Charges Act (Bill 23)
1.11 To support the Housing Supply Action Plan, the Province also released Bill 23: More
Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, which made significant changes to the Planning Act,
Development Charges Act, and Conservation Authorities Act, among others, and
released a series of bulletins on the Environmental Registry of Ontario related to
housing. A full summary of the changes under Bill 23 were presented in PDS-054-22.
Refunding of Application Fees (Bill 109)
1.12 As of January 1, 2023, Planning Act amendments require municipalities to gradually
refund Site Plan, Zoning By-law Amendment and Official Plan Amendment application
fees to an applicant if a decision on their application is not made within legislated
timeframes. A summary of these changes as it relates to the development process and
a proposed approach to respond to the potential implications of the legislation was
presented to Council in report PDS-051-22.
Municipality of Clarington
Report PDS-009-23
2. Growth Projections
Page 4
2.1 Clarington is experiencing significant growth within its three major Urban Areas
(Courtice, Bowmanville, and Newcastle), as well as some moderate growth within the
hamlets, specifically in Newtonville, and the rural countryside. Clarington has also seen
an increase in growth through Additional Dwelling Units within existing dwellings or
accessory buildings.
Historical Growth in Clarington
2.2 The 13,000-housing unit target assigned to the Municipality is ambitious if looking at the
historical growth rates for Clarington. As shown in Figure 1, in the past 10 years,
Clarington has seen a low of 289 units in 2019 and a high of 1,011 units in 2020. The
median over the last 10 years is 850 units. Meeting the Province's housing target over
the next nine (9) years requires the construction of 1,444 dwelling units per year. This
means that the Municipality will have to double the annual amount of building permits
issued to meet this target.
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Figure 1 — Total Number of New Residential Building Permits Issued Between 2013-2022
Current Residential Subdivision and Site Plan Applications
2.3 As seen in Table 1, the total number of units that are currently part of a development
application (this includes only subdivision and site plan applications) is 12,979 units.
These projects are expected to be built out by the 2031 timeframe.
Table 1 - Total Number of Units Within a Development Application as of December 31, 2022
Proposed
Application
Draft Approved
Registered
Vacant
Total
Courtice
3,608
782
350
4,740
Municipality of Clarington
Report PDS-009-23
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Bowmanville
4,509
1,353
81
5,943
Newcastle
222
1,446
333
2,001
Rural
261
7
27
295
Sub -Total
8,600
3,588
791
12,979
2.4 Moreover, staff have recently received applications on lands that are within recently
adopted secondary plan areas. There are a total of 4,235 units within these
applications.
Additional Dwelling Units (ADU)
2.5 Additional Dwelling Units (ADU) also contribute towards housing supply and are part of
Clarington's Affordable Housing Toolkit.
2.6 Since the implementation of the Municipalities Official Plan Amendment and the
implementing ADU By-law, in 2021, Clarington has seen a 30% increase in applications.
In 2022, 80 building permits were issued for ADUs, this is a 50% increase in
applications compared to 2017. If Clarington receives roughly 100 ADU applications per
year, it is anticipated that approximately 900 units would contribute to the 13,000-unit
target to 2031.
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Number of Additional Dwelling Unit
Applications Received
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Figure 2 — Total Number of ADU Applications Between 2013-2022
Development Projections within Secondary Plan Areas
2.7 Staff requested information from the various land owner groups within the Secondary
Plan boundaries about their expected number of units built per year for each Secondary
Plan Area following approval. The proposed number of units will need to be finalized
through the approval of the secondary plans and through the refined development
applications. Below is a summary of responses received.
Municipality of Clarington
Report PDS-009-23
Page 6
Table 2 — Projected Delivery of Units Within Secondary Plan Areas provided by Developers
Secondary Plans
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
Total
Southwest
0
0
134
240
127
0
0
0
501
Courtice
Southeast
0
60
1,106
1,061
817
888
525
276
4,733
Courtice
Courtice Transit
0
0
0
278
928
940
965
827
3,938
Oriented
Community
North Newcastle
107
130
158
154
201
195
187
200
1,332
Village
Brookhill North
0
45
277
340
340
265
111
141
1,519
Farewell Heights
1,400
Total Future
107
235
1,675
2,073
3,813
2,288
1,788
1,444
13,423
Units
Applications
- 4235
Received
Future
9188
Secondary Plan
Applications
2.8 There are also other areas such as the Bowmanville West Major Transit Station Area,
Soper Hills, Soper Springs, and the Courtice Waterfront Secondary Plan areas that are
planned for residential development and could contribute to the overall housing unit
target. However, construction in these Secondary Plans areas is expected to take place
closer to the end of the 2031 timeframe. A yearly monitoring report will revaluate how
many of these units have the potential to contribute to the 2031 target.
2.9 Staff have also received commitments from other various landowners outside these
areas which total approximately 600 more units to 2031. Staff will continue to monitor
these developments and may consider giving priority to projects that achieve the
Municipality's affordability and sustainability objectives and which are an overall benefit
to the community.
Growth Projections Summary
2.10 Clarington has approximately 13,000 units already part of a development application, of
which 4,731 units are either in the draft approved or registered stage. With the growth in
ADU applications, Clarington can expect to see another 900 units by 2031. Another
recent trend that Clarington has seen is a consolidation of parcels and more infill
Municipality of Clarington
Report PDS-009-23
Page 7
developments. These intensification units would provide a further contribution to
Clarington's 13,000-unit target.
2.11 The unit projection information provided by Developers summarized in Table 2 indicates
that there is potential for about 2,017 units to be built by 2026 and the remaining 11,406
units between the 2027 to 2031 time horizon, for a total of 13,423 units by 2031. Staff
have already received 10 applications within some of these secondary plan areas,
totalling 4,235 units. This would indicate that approximately 9,000 units will require a
future development application. Given the approximate 13,000 units that are already
part of a development application, this would total about 22,000 units by 2031, which
would well exceed the 13,000-unit target.
2.12 As demonstrated in Table 3, the Municipality will have more than enough units to meet
the target. The Municipality does not require any additional residential Urban Boundary
Expansions or Greenbelt lands to achieve the 13,000 unit target.
Table 3 — Summary of Planned Housing Unit Capacity
Total Units
Development Applications (Table 1)
12,979
Additional Dwelling Units
900
Future Secondary Plan Applications
9188
Potential Total Capacity to 2031
23,067
Secondary Plans
2.13 Clarington has 12 Secondary Plans currently underway which plan for new residential
units. Some of these Secondary Plan areas are already starting to see applications by
the developers and are expected to be built by the 2031 timeframe, as noted above,
while other secondary plan areas will take longer due to public infrastructure
constraints, staff resources, or motivation from landowners.
2.14 As more Secondary plans get approved, Clarington can also expect further
development applications to be submitted and processed.
Infrastructure Services
2.15 To support development, Infrastructure Services, such as roads, sanitary sewers and
water are a key component to enable growth and can have a major impact on the
Municipality's ability to meet the housing target if capital projects are delayed. Regional
roads, sanitary sewer, and water infrastructure is under the jurisdiction of the Region of
Durham, while stormwater and local roads are under the jurisdiction of Clarington.
2.16 The total number of residential units that have either received draft approval or
registered vacant parcels is 4,371. This makes up about 30% of Clarington's assigned
residential unit target of 13,000 units. Of the draft approved and registered units only
17% are waiting for major public infrastructure in order to proceed whereas the
remaining 83% are up to the individual landowners to extend the existing services and
proceed to the building permit stage. Progress of approved units to construction is
largely dependent on the developers and their business motivation.
Municipality of Clarington Page 8
Report PDS-009-23
2.17 Staff will be notifying developments that their draft or site plan approval is about to
expire and may prevent them from receiving an extension of draft approval to ensure
they do not delay other development from proceeding or tie up capacity. It is also worth
mentioning that some draft approved plans of subdivisions are dependent on other
landowner groups to extend services. There are two such instances of this in
Bowmanville, one being the Tono lands in the Brookhill Secondary Plan area and the
other is Farsight Investment Limited in Soper Hills. If the Tono lands proceed, this would
allow 300 more units to move forward in other plans of subdivision that are draft
approved, totalling approximately 600 units that could proceed to the building permit
stage. Similarly, if Farsight proceeds, this will allow for more than 1,200 units to proceed
as it would connect to the future Soper Hills Secondary Plan area and other future
developments.
Table 4 — Draft approved or Registered Units with Available Services as of
December 31, 2022
Total Draft
Approved and
Registered Units
Available Services
%
Courtice
1,131
1,041
92%
Bowmanville
1,429
757
53%
Newcastle
1,777
1,777
100%
Rural*
34
34
100%
Total
4,371
3,609
83%
*Note that rural lots are generally on private services however for the purpose of this
table they do not typically rely on public infrastructure in order to proceed to issuance of
a building permit.
Number of Draft Approved and Registered
Units with Services Available
■ Available Services ■ Services Required
Figure 3 — Total Number of Units Draft Approved or Registered with Available Services as of
December 31, 2022
Appeals for Non -Decisions
Municipality of Clarington
Report PDS-009-23
Page 9
2.18 Applicants can appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal for applications that have not
reached a decision within the timeframes of the Planning Act. These timeframes were
recently reduced through Bill 23. Over the past year, Clarington has received one
appeal for a non -decision, which is likely to be withdrawn.
2.19 Staff will continue to monitor the number of appeals received for non -decisions in a
yearly monitoring report as a key indicator for processing applications. Staff will also
report on the average number of days it takes to process applications, starting from
deeming the application complete to the draft approval stage, with both staff time and
applicant time reported.
Municipal Surplus Lands
2.20 The Municipality has already utilized surplus lands for development, specifically for non-
profit housing. The development application at 200 Baseline Road is an example of this
where the Municipality has partnered with non-profit housing organizations to provide 84
affordable housing units within the Clarington. To achieve this, the Municipality initiated
a Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator Order (CIHA), which expedites the
zoning process on this type of project. The Municipality is committed to using the CIHA
tool, as needed, to permit additional affordable housing projects.
2.21 It is expected that soon, the Old Fire Hall in Newcastle will be put on the market with a
requirement that it be purchased with the intent of providing not -for profit housing.
2.22 Staff will also create an inventory of all lands owned by the Municipality to find other
potential sites for development.
3. Municipal Initiatives to Streamline the Planning Approval
Process
3.1 Staff have also identified several process improvements which have already been
initiated or in the process of implementation to help fast track development applications.
Below is a summary of recent changes that are planned to improve the efficiency of the
development process.
Streamline Development Approval Fund Initiatives
3.2 On January 19, 2022, the Municipality received approval from the Ministry of Municipal
Affairs and Housing of financial support through the Streamline Development Approvals
Fund (SDAF) to implement streamlining development approvals initiatives, such as e-
permitting systems, temporary staff to address backlogs, online application portals, and
other projects aimed at unlocking housing supply.
3.3 A comprehensive set of initiatives are underway by the Municipality to modernize,
streamline, improve accessibility to, and accelerate processes for managing and
approving housing applications. In general, these include:
Municipality of Clarington
Report PDS-009-23
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• Supporting implementation of the new Municipal Business Solution to modernize the
customer experience and provide enhanced and more efficient systems for
managing and tracking development applications and building permits;
• Hiring temporary, contract staff to support development review and assist with
backlogs related to development approvals;
• Procuring consultant support for planning and engineering development review to
assist with backlogs in processing development applications; and
• Procuring consultant support to assess the current development approvals process
and provide recommendations for improving the efficiency of the existing process,
including supporting the Municipality to effectively and efficiently adapt to recent
regulatory changes in Ontario (i.e., Bill 13, Bill 23, Bill 109).
3.4 The Transformation Initiative recommendations report will be completed in early March
2023 and will be a key consideration in planning next steps to maximize the use of and
benefits to be realized through the extended SDAF program.
3.5 The Municipality has initiated a number of process improvement initiatives to accelerate
development approvals for housing.
Enhanced Pre -consultation
3.6 To respond to the implication of Planning Act amendments stemming from the
enactment of Bill 109, enhancement to the Municipality's pre -consultation process is
underway. Recommended changes to pre -consultation were presented to Council in
Report PDS-051-22 and approved by Council on December 12, 2022.
3.7 Pre -consultation is now comprised of a two -stage process that ensures an application is
ready to be processed before it is submitted. The new process aims to better support
applicants to ensure that a complete application is submitted, thereby reducing the
number of modifications needed and improving application approval timelines. Staff are
taking a zero -tolerance policy for applications that are deemed incomplete in order to
focus on applications that have submitted all requested information and provided a
complete application.
3.8 Implementation actions associated with the new pre -consultation process which are in
progress or not yet started include updates to pre -consultation forms, templates and
procedure manuals, development of guidelines for applicant -led public consultation prior
to submitting a development application, AMANDA system updates, and the
development of measurement and monitoring mechanisms to assess the impact of the
process changes and performance relative to Planning Act timeframes.
Technology Modernizations
Municipality of Clarington Page 11
Report PDS-009-23
3.9 The Corporate Municipal Business Solution is an important component of the measures
being taken by the Municipality to streamline the development approvals process. The
AMANDA software, once fully implemented, will include a customer portal to submit
development applications, and allow for online development application processing.
The software will also allow Building Inspectors to complete their inspections and
related report filing in the field rather than at a later time.
3.10 Departmental coordination, the development of technology specific process flows,
testing, refinement, and training for the 16 development review processes now
functioning in the AMANDA system required substantial effort and resources, all while
maintaining normal daily business operations.
New Streamlined process for Minor Applications
3.11 The Planning and Infrastructure Services Department has initiated a new streamlined
process for minor applications that conform to Municipal, Regional, and Provincial
policies. If the application meets all land use and secondary plan policies, approval will
be recommended at the Statutory Public Meeting. Any comments from the public and
Council will be dealt with through the site plan or draft conditions process, with
applicants and staff working together to address any issues. This new approach will
save months in processing times.
Elimination of Statutory Public Meeting Presentation
3.12 The Planning and Infrastructure Services Department has updated the Statutory Public
Meeting procedure to remove the Staff presentations. The removal of the Staff led
presentations has proven to save time leading up to and during the Planning and
Development Committee (PDC) meetings. This new approach will save significant staff
time and permit additional items to be placed onto the PDC agendas.
Proposed Delegation of Authority (Bill 13)
3.13 Bill 13, the Supporting People and Businesses Act, 2021, received royal assent
December 2, 2021. The Bill made changes to the Planning Act, Municipal Act, 2001 and
City of Toronto Act, 2006, that enables Council to, by a by-law, delegate the authority to
pass by-laws under section 34 of the Planning Act (Zoning By-laws) that are of a minor
nature to a committee of Council, or an individual who is an officer, employee or agent
of the municipality. This authority is currently held exclusively by Council.
3.14 In response, the Municipality has initiated an Official Plan Amendment (OPA) to enact
these changes. The purpose of the proposed OPA is to allow Council to delegate
authority to the Director of Planning and Infrastructure Services to pass by-laws under
section 34 of the Planning Act. The amendment will simplify process for citizens and
shorten approval process times in an effort to facilitate additional housing and economic
development opportunities within the Municipality. Council previously authorized Staff to
proceed with the OPA to delegate additional authorities on December 12, 2022 through
Municipality of Clarington
Report PDS-009-23
Page 12
report PDS-051-22 (resolution PD-105-22). This OPA is part of the toolbox for the
Housing Pledge to implement 13,000 units by 2031 as required by the Province.
3.15 In response to the changes to the Planning Act and Municipal Act, it is proposed that
the Director of Planning and Infrastructure Services be delegated additional authorities
that include:
Removal of Holding "H" Symbols;
Temporary Use Zoning By-law Amendments; and
Housekeeping By-laws for the purposes of making clerical or other changes to
assist in the interpretation of a Zoning By-law.
4. Proposed Minister's Regulation Under the Planning Act to
Report on Planning Matters
4.1 On February 6th, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing released a bulletin which
proposes data information that municipalities, including Clarington, would be required to
report to the Province on. The municipalities would be required to report planning -
approval information every three months, beginning June 30t", 2023, and additional
information every year by December 31, 2023.
4.2 Although the Municipality already collects and reports on the majority of the information
proposed on an annual basis, some specific details such as the status of each
application, when the application was deemed complete, and the geospatial data
requirements to identify strategic growth areas and intensification targets would require
more staff resources and effort to deliver to the Province, especially with some
information required every three months. At this time, the Municipality will not provide
comments to the Province.
5. Financial Considerations
5.1 At this time, an in-depth analysis of the costing to undertake and implement these
initiatives, including staff time dedicated towards the ongoing monitoring of development
and growth has not been undertaken. Furthermore, the recent changes as a result of
Bill 23 which reduces municipal funding in order to deliver vital public infrastructure to
support growth has not been fully realized. Exact dollar amount of lost revenue will be
determined as development applications are approved and building permits are issued.
This information will be presented to Council through the annual budget process and the
annual growth monitoring report.
5.2 The proposed additional reporting of planning applications and geospatial information to
the Province proposed will also require significant staff resources to compile and deliver
the information. The Province has indicated that the estimated cost to each municipality
in order to adhere to this regulation, which includes administrative tasks, is about
$3,953 per year. Clarington argues that this would be considerably higher given the
amount of data collection and details required for each application, including the
Municipality of Clarington
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geospatial data and growth areas, not to mention the considerable effort and time to
provide this information when there are already limited staff resources.
6. Concurrence
6.1 This report has been reviewed by the Deputy CAO/Treasurer who concurs with the
recommendations.
7. Conclusion
7.1 Clarington's Housing Pledge seeks to provide a summary of the expected growth within
Clarington and identifies some improvements and barriers that are key to achieve the
2031 housing target of 13,000 units. An Action Plan is provided in Attachment 1 to this
report which will strive to assist in meeting the assigned municipal housing target for
Clarington, however, housing markets, rising interest rates, borrowing requirements,
government policies, cost of materials, land values, delivery of public services, and
ability for the private sector to construct the units should also be evaluated in order to
deliver affordable and attainable housing for residents and future generations.
7.2 Furthermore, if the goal is to create more affordable and attainable housing in Ontario,
increasing housing supply alone will not address this issue. The Province has made
various legislative changes through the More Homes Built Faster Act in an attempt to
tackle the rising housing costs and to provide more housing opportunities but other
external factors, as mentioned, may play a bigger part in achieving this goal, including
how developers' cost savings resulting from the changes will be passed onto
consumers in the form of more affordable, quality housing choices. The Province is
commended in taking action to address the housing crisis issue but a further in-depth
analysis and an informed approach into the contributing factors that affect housing costs
is warranted.
7.3 As demonstrated, the Municipality is able to meet the housing targets without any
residential Urban Boundary Expansions or Greenbelt lands. The commitments within
the Housing Pledge in Attachment 1 will assist in streamlining the development
approval process as we continue towards these unit counts. It is essential to note that
the realization of the units is subject to market conditions and available infrastructure.
Staff Contact: Nicole Zambri, Senior Planner, nzambri@clarington.net.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 — Housing Pledge/Action Plan
Not Applicable
Interested Parties:
List of Interested Parties available from Department.
Attachment 1 to Report PDS-009-23
Municipal Housing Pledge
Clarington's Municipal Housing Target is 13,000 by 2031
The following represents actions that may be facilitated by the Municipality of Clarington to
implement the Municipal Housing Pledge:
Facilitating Growth
• Official Plan: Completing the Secondary Plans currently in progress by 2026 will
facilitate housing units within Clarington's existing urban areas that will contribute
towards the achievement of the short-term target to 2031. Concurrently, staff will initiate
and complete the Clarington Official Plan Review that will address longer -term growth
and development to 2051.
• Zoning: Develop zoning to implement newly approved and updated Secondary Plans to
provide for zoning that aligns with approved built forms and densities, and complete
new urban area zoning by-law to provide permissions outside of secondary plan areas
that support new housing units and reduce the need for site -specific zoning
amendments, which can be costly and resource consuming. Zoning for the
Bowmanville and Courtice MTSAs will be prioritized to be completed within a year of the
Province's approval of Durham's MTSAs, as required.
• Consider Community Planning Permit System: The Clarington Official Plan provides
for the use of the Community Planning Permit System tool, which combines zoning,
minor variances and site plan into one process. Upon the completion of the necessary
secondary planning and zoning work, staff will explore locations and situations in which
a Community Planning Permit System might be appropriate and support the housing
target commitment, such as for affordable housing or within MTSAs.
• Community Improvement Plans: Clarington's existing CIPs are due to be updated in
2023/2024. Opportunities to support the development of affordable housing units
through CIP programming will be explored as part of the review and update.
• Municipal Heritage Register: Clarington's Municipal Register will be reviewed and
cultural heritage resources list can be updated to better enable staff to proactively
address the conservation of resources on lands subject to residential development
applications.
• Engineering Design Standards: Continue initiative to update Clarington's Engineering
Design Standards to align with current best practices and improve processing timelines
during the detailed engineering review stage of residential subdivision applications.
• Streamlining Development Approvals Processes: A comprehensive set of initiatives
is underway by the Municipality to modernize, streamline, improve accessibility to, and
accelerate processes for managing and approving housing applications, including
maximizing capabilities of new software and technology, implementing an application
prioritization process, hiring of necessary staff resources and consultant expertise,
modification of pre -consultation processes, and delegation of additional authorities to
staff.
Supportive Servicing and Infrastructure
Infrastructure Master Planning: Clarington is committed to doing its part to work with
Durham Region to align land use planning and infrastructure planning to maximize the
efficiency of servicing secondary plan areas to support the construction of new homes.
Staff will explore an Infrastructure Master Plan where it would be beneficial to align local
municipal transportation and servicing infrastructure capital projects with secondary
planning to support development.
Enhancing Support for Housing
• Encouraging Additional Dwelling Units: Build on recent official plan and zoning
amendments that permit 2nd and 3rd residential units to incorporate additional Bill 23
direction. Encourage developers to provide additional units in the design of dwellings at
the time of purchase and sale to increase ADUs and affordable housing options. A
citizen -friendly guide to ADUs and promotion on the Municipality's social media site may
be explored.
• Affordable Housing Toolkit: Continue to implement initiatives endorsed as part of
Clarington's Affordable Housing Toolkit, including the use of surplus municipal lands for
non-profit housing. An inventory of available lands will be generated and the
requirements of new developments to provide affordable housing, either through
monetary contributions or land.
Prioritize Applications: Clarington will consider criteria that prioritize applications that
achieve the Municipality's affordability and sustainability objectives and which are an
overall benefit to the community. The proposed criteria to prioritize applications is:
o non-profit housing and long term care facilities,
o applications that provide for a minimum ten percent affordable units,
o applications that incorporate significant sustainable and walkable design
features,
o projects that exceed the minimum parkland and open space requirements to the
benefit of the residents and the broader community, and
o applications on the former Greenbelt lands at Nash and Hancock Roads, in
accordance with provincial direction and timelines.
Standardized Terms of Reference: Staff will create or update terms of reference for
studies required in support of development applications to provide a clear expectation of
requirements and minimize processing time and number of submissions.
Collaboration and Partnerships
• Provincial and Federal Partners: Clarington is committed to collaborating with the
Province (including Metrolinx) and Federal partners to support and implement projects
and funding initiatives that support affordable and quality housing, including the timely
development of the Bowmanville and Courtice GO Train Stations.
Development Industry: The Municipality will continue to foster its collaborative
relationship with the development industry, including regular meetings bi-annually with
the development industry to identify opportunities for mutual improvement to facilitate
the achievement of the housing target.
Monitoring and Reporting
Key Indicators: Key performance indicators will be developed to inform annual
monitoring reports to Council on the delivery of the target, including (i) number of
registered or draft approved units in the pipeline (ii) length of time units have been
approved without proceeding to the next stage of development (iii) which lands are not
proceeding once approved (iv) number of additional dwelling units (v) number of
refunded application fees, and (vi) OLT appeals based on non -decisions.
Annual Monitoring Report: Staff will provide a yearly monitoring report to update
Council on the status of initiatives, progress towards Clarington's 13,000 housing unit
target, infrastructure availability, influencing market conditions, opportunities and
challenges, staff resources and any amendments to the pledge that may be required.
Dormant Application Follow-up: Focus staff resources on applications that are
progressively moving forward, close applications that have been dormant, and allow to
expire those approvals for applications that have not proceeded to building permit. Staff
will contact the developer(s) subsequent to the release of staff's annual housing
monitoring report to encourage them to advance execution of the appropriate
agreements and/or build. Consideration will be given to a measurable deadline for
developers to complete their projects within a two -to -three-year time frame.
External Influencing Factors outside of Clarington's Control
The Pledge and Action Items provided herein is a commitment that the Municipality will strive
to do its part to meet the assigned housing target for Clarington. However, housing markets,
rising interest rates, borrowing requirements, senior government policies, cost of materials,
land values, delivery of public services, labour shortages, and ability for the private sector to
construct the units are outside of the Municipality's control and will influence and affect the
achievement of the target.
With the above in mind, the Municipality of Clarington pledges to the Minister of Municipal
Affairs and Housing to facilitate the construction of 13,000 housing units by 2031.
Mayor Adrian Foster