Ford government was warned it has 'limited options' to enforce municipal housing targets
CBC
Just days before it announced sweeping housing legislation, Ontario civil servants warned Premier Doug Ford's government it has "limited options" to force municipalities to comply with a key part of its new plan.
Provincial bureaucrats provided the advice last month in a draft document, which was obtained by CBC Toronto.
They took issue with the government's plan to impose targets on municipalities for the number of homes they'll build, saying if local governments balk at the arrangement or fall short of the targets, there may be little the province can do.
"As the pledge is not enforced by legislation or regulation, there would be limited options to ensure municipal compliance," the civil servants say in the report.
The slide deck was written ahead of the launch of the province's Building More Homes Faster Act, which was tabled last week. It dissects the proposed policy and multiple possible regulatory changes.
CBC Toronto reached out to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for reaction Monday, but so far the ministry has not responded.
In a bid to build 1.5 million homes over the next decade, Ontario's minister of municipal affairs and housing has assigned 29 communities specific home building targets. They'll be asked through a ministerial letter to submit a "housing pledge" that outlines the goal and actions they'll take to get there by March 1, 2023. Municipalities would be required to report annually on their progress, the report notes.
Ford announced his government's new plan and set ambitious targets for municipalities to ensure that the province achieves its overall new home building goal. The legislation has not yet been passed and has proven controversial with a number of groups, including municipal leaders who worry they'll be stuck with the bill to implement Ontario's plan.
The government has pledged to freeze or waive development charges to encourage developers to build new homes and affordable housing. That could cost cities and towns across Ontario hundreds of millions of dollars at a time when many are struggling with increasing costs and few revenue streams to maintain services.
The province has said it could use a $2-billion federal fund to make cities whole, but the municipalities have argued that the funding may not materialize and want further assurances their costs will be covered by the province.
In the report, the civil servants warned the Ford government that municipal leaders would likely be upset with a number of aspects of the plan, including the housing targets.
"Municipalities may react negatively to being assigned housing targets without consultation, or if the targets do not align with recent updates to provincial population forecasts," they note.
The bureaucrats also take a hard look at the timeline to build the 1.5 million homes itself and note it will take years to gain traction and demonstrate results.
"Because of the timelines for planning and development, the impact of policy changes (once in effect) will take a few years to be realized through increased housing starts," they warn.