We’ve been following lots of stuff at City Hall, from Complete Streets to inclusionary zoning and the Poverty Reduction Strategy.  Inclusionary zoning has (quite happily!) taken up a lot of time recently.

You may remember that MPP Peter Milczyn tabled a Private Members’ Bill on inclusionary zoning.  The Provincial Government replaced that Bill with Bill 73: Smart Growth for Our Communities Act 2015.  In its current form, Bill 73 makes no reference to inclusionary zoning.  Following a meeting of the City’s Planning and Growth Management Committee (and lots of advocacy!), on June 10th, Toronto City Council voted to “…request the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to amend Bill 73 to make appropriate reforms to the Planning Act to include permissions for municipalities to enact inclusionary zoning for affordable housing of all types.”  This is good news!  We hope that the province will take this request seriously, and make it possible for Toronto’s Planning Act to make provisions for the implementation of inclusionary zoning.

In its June 18th meeting, the Planning & Growth Management Committee passed 2 important motions regarding inclusionary zoning.  The first would potentially introduce a clear definition of affordable ownership housing into Toronto’s Official Plan.  The Committee “…requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report back on the results of the public consultation open house and in consultation with the Director, Affordable Housing Office, report on an approach and timing for implementation of the proposed revised definition for Affordable Ownership Housing to the Planning and Growth Management Committee on October 8, 2015.”

If this motion follows through to implementation, the City of Toronto Official Plan Definition of Affordable Ownership Housing would be no more than 30% of household income spent on housing.  We will continue to follow!

At the same meeting, Councillor Mike Layton introduced a motion regarding Bill 73, in an effort to speed up the process of Toronto’s move towards inclusionary zoning.  Thus, the Chief Planner was requested to report back to the Planning & Growth Management Committee in the Fall on

(1) a strategy to implement inclusionary zoning in the City of Toronto, working in consultation with the Director of the Affordable Housing Office; and

(2) an update on Bill 73 Smart Growth for Our Communities Act, 2015, and an reforms to the Planning Act to include permissions for municipalities to enact inclusionary zoning for affordable housing of all types.

All of these changes hinge on the Government of Ontario: the provincial government must enable changes to Toronto’s Planning Act so that inclusionary zoning can become an integral part of how we build our city, and how it grows.  We will keep you informed!