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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD-233-91 THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF NEWCASTLE DN:GOV-LAN.GPA REPORT Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee File It _VQ4_� 96' Date: Monday, October 7, 1991 Rey. # By-Law# Report#: PD-233-gfile#: ----D-04-095.AF Subject: "GOVERNMENT LAND FOR HOUSING" AN ONTARIO GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION PAPER Recommendations: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report PD-233-91 be received. 2 . THAT Report PD-233-91 be adopted as the Town's comments on the provincial consultation paper "Government Land for Housing" . 3 . THAT an copy of this report and Council's decision be forwarded to the Honourable Evelyn Gigantes, Minister of Housing. 1. BACKGROUND 1. 1 One of the Ontario government's stated top priorities is to ensure that all residents of this province have a decent affordable place to live. To this end, the Provincial Government is trying to undertake various initiatives which will make its housing policy more responsive. As part of this task, in 1991, the Ministry of Housing is issuing three consultation papers on the following topics: i) A Housing Framework for Ontario; ii) Better Use of Government Land; and iii) Quality of Life in Public Housing. 1. 2 On July 15, 1991, Council received a letter dated June 19, 1991 from Dave Cooke, Minister of Housing requesting Council's help in developing a comprehensive housing policy for Ontario. Two reports, one entitled "Government Land for REPORT NO. : PD-233-91 PAGE 2 Housing - Questions for Consultation" , were referred to the Planning and Development Department for review and preparation of a report. 2. GOVERNMENT LAND FOR HOUSING - QUESTIONS FOR CONSULTATION 2 . 1 The Ontario Government owns a substantial amount of land which has been acquired over a number of years for purposes unrelated to housing such as, community institutions, highways, government offices and court offices. Some of these lands are now considered to be surplus since they are no longer needed for their original purpose. These lands could be used for other purposes such as housing. This issue is of particular importance to the Town due to the large block of land owned by the Ministry of Government Services in the eastern edge of the Bowmanville Urban Area. 2 .2 In 1987, the Ontario Government announced a "Housing First" policy. Under this policy, surplus lands of Ministries and some crown agencies that were suitable for housing were to be used for housing. At least 35 percent of the housing units were to be affordable. Lands not suitable were to be sold and the proceeds applied to a "Housing Development Fund" . 2 . 3 The current government is looking at ways to strengthen this emphasis under a new "Housing Priority" policy. The discussion paper outlines a number of policies and proposals which, if adopted, could result in the production of approximately 15, 000 housing units on government land, over the next five years. Approximately 10, 000 to 11, 000 of these housing units will be affordable rental or ownership homes. REPORT NO. : PD-233-91 PAGE 3 2 . 4 These policies include the following: clearer priority for housing in the allocation of surplus sites; an annual inventory of underutilized sites with housing potential; access to surplus sites of Crown agencies; consideration given to using high-value sites to acquire more land for housing; active support for affordable housing development in the planning approval process; and an environmentally responsible approach to development on government land. 2 . 5 The Government believes that there are other measures which could be employed to make government land an even more effective tool for promoting affordable housing. These measures include: increasing the proportion of affordable housing on Government sites above the current minimum of 35 per cent; making available certain Government lands for non- profit or co-operative housing, and holding the lands until they can be used for that purpose; having a provincial program for buying additional sites for housing in communities with little Government land but high housing need; and requiring municipalities, school boards and transfer payment agencies to offer their surplus properties for sale to the Province 2 . 6 Before proceeding with these measures, the Government is consulting with the public and interested organizations to receive their input. The "Government Lands" document presents four issues and a number of questions related to these issues. In this document, the government states its preferred approach to each issue. Staff comments i` i REPORT NO. : PD=233-91 PAGE 4 (highlighted in bold) indicate the preferred approach for each issue. 3. QUESTIONS FOR CONSULTATION 3.1 Mix of Housing Types 3 . 1. 1 The government believes that a variety of housing types, including affordable and market housing can be " built on government sites. Affordable housing is defined as housing that low and moderate income households (up to the 60th percentile) can afford without spending more than 30 per cent of their income on rent or a mortgage and taxes. Examples of affordable housing include not only non-profit and co- operative housing (assisted housing) , built by community groups with government assistance, but also private rental and ownership housing, built by the private sector. 3 . 1.2 The government's preferred approach to the mix of housing types on government sites is: For smaller sites, utilize sites which can accommodate only one project for not-for-profit housing. - For larger sites, the current policy of allocating 35% to affordable housing, should be increased 60% affordable (of which 30% would be for not-for- profit and 30% affordable private housing) . The remaining 40% could be for unspecified market housing. Variations from the 30/30/40 objective should only occur where justified by community need or physical constraints. REPORT NO. : PD-233-91 PAGE 5 3.1.3 Many municipalities are already encountering negative reactions to intensification and the apparent concentration of non-profit housing in particular neighbourhoods. In order to deal with negative public reactions, the Province would need to ensure that mechanisms are in place to deal with it such as, public education. Even so, the Town is concerned that the proposed approach would lead to an undesirable concentration of non-profit and affordable housing in specific neighbourhoods, not from good planning, but from the chance fate of certain lands being declared surplus. It is suggested that the Province consult with the municipality to determine what the best approach is for selecting a mix of housing types for a specific site. Some municipalities may not need to provide extra affordable housing on government sites because the market may be meeting the need. In addition, housing needs may vary from year to year in a particular municipality and as a result, there may be years where a push to build a range of housing is not warranted. While increasing the percentage of affordable housing may be helpful to reach the Government's objective, it should not be concentrated in one area. The Town suggests that the government "swap" land with other developers to enable development of affordable housing to be effectively allocated and not concentrated in one area. 3 . 2 Reserving Not-For-Profit Housing Sites 3 . 2 . 1 The Ministry of Housing currently matches appropriate non-profit and co-operative housing groups to REPORT NO. : PD-233-91 PAGE 6 government sites as they become available through the Ministry of Government Services. However, there is currently no policy basis for holding a site for an extended period of time and therefore, the possibility exists that the sites will be lost to housing use. 3 . 2 . 2 The Province has indicated that the preferred approach is for the Ministry of Government Services (MGS) to hold a site until the Ministry of Housing allocates it to a specific group. If a group is not found immediately, MGS manages the site for a maximum of 5 years. The advantage of this approach is that all land suitable for assisted housing would be used for the provision of assisted housing. 3.2.3 The Town does not object to the preferred approach. 3 . 3 Acquisition Of New Sites For Housing 3 . 3 . 1 The Government is considering a land acquisition program because: - government land (and surplus government land) is not distributed evenly across the province; and, it may be unreasonable to require a municipality, school boards and provincial transfer payment agencies, to make their surplus lands available for purchase by the Province or to hold a site until it can be used by a group. 3 . 3 .2 The Government's stated preferred approach is that it should acquire sites for affordable housing for communities that have a significant need, but do not have enough surplus government land available. REPORT NO. : PD-233-91 PAGE 7 3 . 3 . 3 The Town concurs with the preferred approach. Within the Town of Newcastle, the concentration of land in' the Bowmanville Urban Area could be offset by purchases or "land swaps" in other areas. 3 . 6 Participation By Municipalities, School Boards and Transfer Payment Agencies 3 . 6. 1 The Government has stated that the supply of available sites for housing could be increased by having the municipalities, school boards and transfer payment agencies participate in the process. The issue to resolve is whether or not any of these bodies should prior to selling a surplus property, offer it to the Province for purchase at market value. 3 . 6. 2 The Government's stated preferred approach is for municipalities to be subject to a statutory provincial "right of first refusal" for housing purposes. This means that surplus land owned by the municipality would have to be offered to the Province for purchase prior to other bids being taken. 3.6.3 The Town is concerned with this approach since it does not address official plan and zoning issues. The Town's Official Plan should be the guiding document and it may be the Town's objective to see the development of surplus lands for other purposes (i.e. , conservation areas, commercial, etc. ) . The Town is concerned that certain surplus lands, such as industrial land and municipal road rights-of-way, may not be suitable for housing purposes. The Town recommends that the participation of municipalities should be limited to the "right of first notification" and not the "right of first refusal". REPORT NO. : PD-233-91 PAGE 8 4. CONCLUSION The consultation paper entitled "Government Land for Housing: Questions for Consultation" presented four issues for discussion: mix of housing types; reserving not-for- profit housing sites; acquisition of new sites for housing; and participation by municipalities, school boards and transfer payment agencies. The document presented the Government's "preferred approach" to each of the four issues areas, which Staff has commented on. It is recommended that this report be adopted as the Town's comments and forwarded to the Ministry of Housing. Respectfully Submitted, Recommended for presentation to the Committee Franklin Wu, M.C. I.P. Lawrence Kotseff Director of Planning Chief Ad i istrative Officer and Development TH*DC*FW*df 16 September 1991 *Attach. Interested parties to be notified of Council and Committee's decision: Housing Policy Branch Ministry of Housing Consultation Paper on Government Land for Housing 2nd Floor, 777 Bay Street Toronto, Ontario. M5G 2E5 L 0 n i