Hosing Homebuyers: Why Cities Should Not Pay for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure with Development Charges
August 9, 2018 – Canadian municipalities are hurting housing affordability by imposing expensive water charges on development, according to a new report published by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Hosing Homebuyers: Why Cities Should Not Pay for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure with Development Charges”, author Benjamin Dachis argues cities should revamp development charges to improve […] Curbs On Demand Won’t Solve Surging House Prices In Canada – Globe And Mail Op-ed
The cost of housing has been going through the roof in many parts of Canada. Most government policies have focused on curtailing the demand for housing. Ontario and B.C. have introduced foreign-buyers taxes. Ottawa has put in place new rules on mortgages. But supply constraints are more likely the key cause of surging prices.
Restrictions on housing supply hinder the efficiency of the housing market. Delays in building what people demand result in shortages and higher prices. One way to measure a broken housing market is to look at the gap between construction costs and sale prices. A well-functioning housing market sees the market price of housing mimic the cost of constructing it. In places where it is hard to build, the costs…
Aaron A. Moore – It’s Time For Transparency In Ontario’s Zoning Tradeoffs
From: Aaron A. Moore To: Bill Mauro, Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Peter Milczyn, Minister of Housing Date: April 26, 2018 Re: It’s Time for Transparency in Ontario’s Zoning Tradeoffs Ontario should scrap arbitrary and opaque density bonusing deals between municipalities and developers, the system under which zoning rules are broken in exchange for public amenities. In my […] Why Ontario’s Planning Act Needs Major Changes: Toronto Star Op-ed
As of April 12, municipalities in Ontario will be able to implement inclusionary zoning, allowing them to require affordable housing units in residential developments. The province’s willingness to grant municipalities this authority reflects its broader commitment to modernizing Ontario’s planning regime. But one relic of this old regime remains: Section 37 of Ontario’s Planning Act. As the province continues to overhaul its planning legislation, it is time to revisit Section 37 and either repeal it or significantly amend it.
Section 37 allows municipalities to secure “benefits” from developers in return for allowing buildings to exceed height and density restrictions. As I note in a recent report for the C.D. Howe Institute,…
Let cities work together to solve regional transit issues: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Many of the challenges that urban regions face spill over the boundaries of municipal governments – none more so than in the current Ontario debate over public transit. The incoming government would be wise to let cities solve regional transit issues rather than to force amalgamation or uploading to a single regional transit agency.
However, there’s a clear need to move toward consolidating some parts of the disparate transit operators across the Toronto region into a single entity. For example, a single planning agency could integrate fares across the region, fixing the current practice of many bus lines stopping at municipal borders and requiring passengers to pay a separate fare when they cross them. A single large transit…
Buildings with Benefits: The Defect of Density Bonusing
Ontario should scrap arbitrary and opaque density bonusing deals between municipalities and developers, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In Buildings with Benefits: The Defect of Density Bonusing author Aaron Moore finds that density bonusing – a practice where developers can break zoning rules in exchange for public amenities – is […] Jeremy Kronick – Ottawa’s National Housing Strategy Misses The Biggest Target
From: Jeremy Kronick To: The Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Date: February 6, 2018 Re: Ottawa’s National Housing Strategy Misses the Biggest Target The Liberal government rolled out a national housing strategy to great fanfare late last year. Great things are promised with $40 billion over a decade: a 50 percent reduction in homelessness, […]