By Allison Jones
Paul Calandra introduced the brand new Provincial Planning Assertion on the Affiliation of Municipalities of Ontario convention, telling the municipal leaders in attendance that it’ll give them extra instruments and adaptability.
“It’ll guarantee one constant set of planning course throughout the province,” he mentioned.
“It acknowledges that municipalities perceive native challenges and priorities with regards to constructing houses, and that you realize greatest the place and what sorts of houses are wanted to deal with the unprecedented progress we’ve seen in Ontario.”
Calandra’s feedback come because the province’s housing tracker reveals Ontario continues to be far off the house constructing tempo wanted to fulfill the Progressive Conservative authorities’s pledge of constructing 1.5 million houses by 2031.
Ontario has not but met any of its annual targets towards its aim of 1.5 million houses, although it got here very shut final 12 months after it began counting long-term care beds.
It has assigned annual housing targets to 50 municipalities and promised additional funding to those that exceed or get near them. Primarily based on information to the tip of June, solely 11 of them are greater than half method to their goal, half approach by means of the 12 months.
Calandra in his speech pointed to exterior components as hampering constructing.
“(The brand new planning assertion) ensures that regardless that housing begins have been impacted by world uncertainty and excessive rates of interest, we’re laying the groundwork for a long-term constructing increase as financial circumstances enhance,” he mentioned.
Calandra additionally mentioned the up to date assertion streamlines the prevailing guidelines, coming in 100 pages and 30,000 phrases shorter.
The planning assertion guides municipal planners on their group’s progress, together with what areas will likely be used for housing, business and farming.
Calandra mentioned key modifications encourage the constructing of extra houses close to main transit stations and on underused low-density lands akin to buying plazas and malls.
The province has been consulting for a number of months on a brand new planning assertion, and when upcoming modifications had been first introduced concurrently a housing invoice, the group Environmental Defence mentioned the 2 strikes would promote low-density sprawl.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Aug. 20, 2024.
Visited 41 instances, 41 go to(s) immediately
housing minister housing provide housing provide disaster Ontario Paul Calandra Regional The Canadian Press
Final modified: August 21, 2024
