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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD-178-91 THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF NEWCASTLE DN:POLICY.GPA REPORT Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee File # Date: Monday, July 22, 1991 Res. # By-Law# Report#: File#: Pln-11 . 1 Subject: Status Report on the Provincial Land Use Planning for Housing Statement Recommend ns:ptlo is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1 . THAT Report PD-178-91 be received. 2 . THAT an extension be requested to the August 1, 1991 deadline set by the Ministries of Municipal Affairs and Housing under the policy statement Land Use Planning for Housing, in order that the Town of Newcastle may adopt official plan and zoning by-law provisions, and continue work as necessary to implement the Policy Statement; and 3 . THAT a copy of the report and a copy of Council's decision be forwarded to the Ministries of Housing and Municipal Affairs . 1. RACKGROUND, TO THE LAND USE PLANNING FOR HOUSING STATEMENT 1. 1 As Council is aware, the Town of Newcastle is undertaking a housing study to satisfy the requirements of the provincial policy statement Land Use Planning for Housing which came into effect on August 1, 1989. Under the Policy Statement, priority areas, which include Durham Region and its area municipalities, are expected to establish appropriate policies, regulations, and approval procedures which will create the opportunity for a variety of housing types to be developed. Priority areas are required to adopt official plan and zoning by-law provisions to implement the Provincial Policy Statement on Land Use Planning for Housing by August 1, 1991. () 0 0 6 PAPER ­Y- THG 0 WRIED U4 RECYCLED PAPER REPORT NO. : PD-178-91 PAGE 2 1.2 The Town is currently engaged in a three phase work program to carry out the necessary work to fulfil the requirements of the Land Use for Planning Policy Statement. The three phase are described below. 1. 3 Phase 1 - Municipal Housing Statement Phase 1 involves completing a Municipal Housing Statement (MHS) , which is funded up to 75% by the Ministry of Housing. The MHS is essentially a background study whose purpose is to undertake an analysis of the local housing market and to develop a housing strategy to meet local needs . Information gathered for the MHS is used to fulfil the requirements of the Provincial Land Use Planning for Housing Statement. The MHS is currently being completed by the Town of Newcastle Planning and Development Review Department, in conjunction with J.L. Cox Planning Ltd. Work for the MHS involves analyzing: demographics, housing demand, housing supply, servicing requirements, the assisted housing survey, residential intensification potential and the range and mix of housing. The information derived from the analyses is then used to develop a housing strategy which includes recommendations for amendments to the official plan and zoning by-laws necessary to fulfil the requirements of the Provincial Policy Statement. Work completed thus far on the MHS has been for the most part, presented to Council. For example, results of the assisted housing survey were presented to the General Purpose and Administration Committee in the form of Report PD-40-91 dated February 4, 1991. Later on April 8, 1991, the GPA received an interim report (PD-80-91) of the Town's. MHS. The interim MHS document was presented at a Public Forum for agencies and the general public on April 15, 1991 . (,! / 7 REPORT NO. : PD-178-91 PAGE 3 Comments generated by the public and various agencies attending the Forum were summarized in Report PD-109-91 on May 6, 1991 . The MHS document was subsequently given back to the Consultant for further review. On Monday May 24th, Planning Staff met with the consultant and representatives from the Ministry of Housing and the Region to review the revisions made to the document. It was determined that more revisions would be necessary in order to satisfy the requirements and therefore it was referred back to the consultant for further work. It is anticipated that a final draft version should be available for Council's perusal in approximately one to two months . 1.3 Phase 2 - Other Work Phase 2 of the Town's work program involves carrying out more detailed work to satisfy the five main policy areas of the Land Use Planning for Housing Statement. The five main policy areas and work outstanding for these policies are discussed below in Section 2 . Briefly the work to be completed in Phase 2 is: investigating ways to streamline the planning process and developing a procedural guideline which outlines time frames and procedures at each stage of the approval process compiling a complete inventory of areas with the physical potential to accommodate residential intensification developing a procedural manual for monitoring activities 1 .4 Phase 3 - Recommendations The final phase of the Town's work program deals with the preparation of housing policies to be incorporated into the Town of Newcastle Official Plan. In addition, amendments made to the Town of Newcastle Official Plan will also require the amending of the Town of Newcastle Comprehensive REPORT NO. : PD-178-91 PAGE 4 Zoning By-law. The policies and amendments to be developed will address the five main policy areas as described below. 2. MAIN POLICIES OF THE LAND USE PLANNING FOR HOUSING STATEMENT 2 . 1 The Policy Statement identifies five main policies which must be implemented by the August 1st deadline. Staff has completed some work on the five policies, but the Town will not be able to meet the August 1st deadline for various reasons . It is anticipated that the Policy Statement requirements will be fulfilled by the Spring of 1992 . The various policies to be fulfilled and the work completed to date on each policy is discussed below. 2 .2 POLICY: Maintaining a Supply of Land for Future Residential Use The Provincial Policy Statement requires all municipalities to maintain a supply of land for future residential use by: - designating sufficient lands in official plan to maintain at least a ten-year supply . - identifying how growth on designated lands will be accommodated - addressing the existing servicing capacity and future planned servicing expansion required to accommodate household growth for twenty years - maintaining at least a continuous three-year supply of a combination of draft approved and/or registered lots and blocks of plans of subdivision in new residential development Work Completed This policy has been reviewed through the Town's Municipal Housing Statement Study and essentially the Town has fulfilled the requirements of this particular policy because there is sufficient land designated in the Town's official plan to maintain more than a ten-year supply. Moreover, the Durham Region Official Plan Review has added many new lands designated for residential use which would amount to a thirty year supply of land. REPORT NO. : PD-178-91 PAGE 5 The requirement for a continuous three year supply of a combination of draft approved and/or registered lots and blocks in plans of subdivision has been met. Presently, the Town has 3,735 residential units in draft approved and 1,235 vacant lots in registered plans of subdivision. However, while the short term needs for land supply are being met in the Town, it will be necessary to continue monitoring to ensure that an adequate supply of land is available in the future. Servicing capacity is not an issue for the Town of Newcastle since servicing infrastructure is in place (or is scheduled) to accommodate development for at least ten years . 2 . 3 POLICY: Streamlining the Planning Process to Reduce the Time to Process Residential Applications The Policy Statement requires municipalities to reduce the time to process residential applications by: adopting a guideline outlining time frames and procedures at each stage of the approval process incorporating a policy in the official plan Work Completed As part of the ongoing improvement to the Town's administration, procedure manuals covering all aspects of the Town's administration were prepared in 1990 . However, no significant work has been done to date to specifically address specific requirements of the provincial Policy Statement such as procedures for streamlining the planning process . This work will be completed in the second phase of the Town's housing study. 90 7 �) REPORT NO. : PD-178-91 PAGE 6 2 .4 POLICY: Providing for a Range of Housing Types in New Residential Development and Residential Intensification All municipalities are to ensure that a range of housing types is provided by: - ensuring that at least 25% of new residential units are affordable - establishing policies in the official plan so that a range of housing types is distributed throughout the municipality on lands designated for residential use - designating lands in the official plan specifying appropriate residential uses and densities - zoning lands to accommodate a range of housing types Work Completed Much of the work for this particular policy has been undertaken through the Municipal Housing Statement Study. An analysis of housing stock in approved and proposed developments reveals that an increasing proportion of more dense housing forms are becoming available. However, the MHS found that there are no affordable housing types for those below the 30th percentile. The only affordable housing types for those having incomes in the 0 to 20th, and 20th to 30th income percentiles are rooming and boarding houses, and subsidized housing. Currently the Town does not allow rooming, lodging and boarding houses, or accessory apartments . Various housing types such as rooming and boarding houses and accessory apartments are issues that still- need to be addressed in the official plan and zoning by-laws . The Town will need to determine specific policies to deal with various housing types in the second phase of the work program. �� « 9 7 REPORT NO. : PD-178-91 PAGE 7 2 .5 POLICY: Residential Intensification Opportunities to Increase the Supply of Housing To satisfy the requirements of this specific policy, municipalities are expected to identify opportunities to increase the supply of housing by: designating areas in the official plan where residential intensification will be permitted - including zoning provisions to permit rooming, boarding and lodging houses, and accessory apartments as-of- right where they are permitted uses in the official plan adopting polices and development standards for new residential development so that the constantly changing needs of the community are met Work Completed Some preliminary material on this topic has been presented in the Town's MHS, however, Planning Staff feel that a more comprehensive study will need to be carried out to satisfy the requirements of the Provincial policy statement. ' This work will be performed in the second phase of the Town's work program and will result in a complete inventory of areas with the physical potential to accommodate additional units . 2 . 6 POLICY: Monitoring The Provincial Policy Statement requires municipalities to monitor how the provisions of the Policy Statement are being achieved by: adopting procedures to review various housing data preparing an annual housing report for council 's endorsement updating planning documents and development approval procedures as necessary Work Completed The MHS has identified some of the basic data elements pertinent to ongoing monitoring. The Planning Department has already initiated its first annual housing report this X99 I �' REPORT NO. : PD-178-91 PAGE 8 past year; however, more detailed procedures are required. This work will be on-going. 3. CONCLUSIONS As stated previously, priority areas, including the Town of Newcastle are expected to adopt official plan and zoning by- law provisions to implement the Provincial Policy Statement on Land Use Planning for Housing by August 1, 1991. It is not anticipated that any of the municipalities in the priority area of Durham Region, except Oshawa, will be able to meet this deadline. The Town of Newcastle cannot meet this deadline as it still has additional work to complete to fulfil the requirements of the Policy Statement. Presently, the Town is engaged in the first of a three phase work program. Upon completion of the MHS (Phase 1) , the Town must meet certain requirements regarding various agency approvals . Once the necessary approvals are obtained the Town can carry out the second and third phases of the program. Due to the substantial amount of work that is still required to complete the requirements of the Provincial Policy Statement, it is recommended that an extension be requested to the August 1, 1991 deadline set by the Ministries of Housing and Municipal Affairs . Respectfully Submitted, Recommended for presentation to the Committee 1 J Franklin Wu, M.C. I .P. L$'wrenc Kotseff Director of Planning Chief inistrative Officer and Development 1 TH*DC*FW*df *Attach 16 July 1991 t:� (,