NEED: MORE RESPONSIBILITIES…

NEED: MORE RESPONSIBILITIES ON DEVELOPER, BETTER IDEAS TO POSITIVELY IMPACT MORE

I am a former Realtor with a distinguished brand, and some knowledge of the development process. I am compelled to write, with grave concerns over many of the decisions being made at this time. When I read the ero document, I am most concerned to see that the Developers/Builders have ALL the rights, and NO responsibilities and little regard for so many current topical issues. This is a recipe for disaster.

1) There appear to be no checks and balances in place for ensuring a positive impact on anyone, except for the developers. No Public Meetings? Re-zoning unnecessary? How offensive this must be to our formally-educated Planners and Associated professional fields.
b) Removing all Development costs? Why? Will there be Environmental Studies done? Is so, for free?
Money need not delay the building process. Find a workable solution. For example, the developers can pay fees retroactively at completion, when the homes/lots are sold. But in no manner, should taxpayers be financially responsible for this.
Builders currently can sell a product (lot) to the customer that they don't even own yet, unbeknownst to the buyer, so money is already in their pockets before they build.

c) It is also time that Realtors are required to represent the Buyer, instead of only the HomeBuilder representing the buyer, while protecting their interests. We now discourage "double-ending in resale homes thankfully, and understandably so; so it is time that Buyer agents, separate from the Builder/Seller, be legally required to legally represent the consumer in new home sales. Especially since the quality of the overall process is certain to be less than adequate amidst the volume of construction.

2) a) Everyone is acutely aware that this Greenbelt proposal was not necessary in order to build homes quickly. The brazen disregard for the well-being of the environment AND current homeowners/taxpayers is absolutely gutting. It is not, in any manner, going to raise the sinking morale of our citizens , nor increase a sense of well-being and financial security during this economically recessive period of time.

b) When we look closer at who is adversely impacted currently, it is our younger first time home-buyers, priced out of the market. What policies have been put in place to protect them when the building is complete? Building expensive homes with wide margins is not going to serve them well, or at all. Nor is it going to serve anyone else. Have maximum prices/margins been put in place to rein in home-builders intentions and motivations?

3) We need to curb sprawl now; and in fact, research shows that densification is a lot cheaper than just going full-bore in sprawl - that the central core of Toronto, for example, is paying the load for the rich suburbs. Planners are necessary, as developers will take every shortcut imaginable. This is not a secret. Just talk to planners, architects and anyone involved in Development projects. It is always the same story. They want more for less. Cut corners. Unimaginative builds that pad their bottom line.

4) What is needed to be put in place, is a lot more than just returning un-used land. We need to address multiple issues at the same time. Of course the land trade LOOKED good. River valleys can't be utilized, anyway. Developers need to be accountable to the province and taxpayers. If we are building homes, what size? Are they green? Will they even be affordable? We need small homes, sum zero homes, multi-units with appropriate community parks and Green-space.
What type of quality control will be in place while they slap up homes?. Will there still be Building Inspectors and warranties? Will we keep the same standards or bend those too? How far is the removal of quality control going? Who is paying for the additional costs like school builds? Will there be requisite bike lanes since the development will be new and so room for it will be available and not need to be annexed later?

Any developer that builds a home larger than say, 2000SF (whatever is determined to be sensible by PLANNERS) should require a tariff to be paid by them. The bigger the house, the steeper the tariff. Simple. Or for every x number of homes built, a SOCIAL HOUSING PROJECT to address homelessness must be built simultaneously. Assist the province's greater needs, not just the greed of a few. Try to be efficient in addressing two or more of our large issues with one solution.

Let's protect the most vulnerable among us and stop eating our young. We all know that unaffordable housing and homelessness is growing, and along with that, addiction and suicide - let's address it here and now with this proposal. The perfect time to do it is now, where it can be folded into the plans. Don't we all think that we should have been forward thinking when we put in the current infrastructure of roads, etc?

5) Why are we building on green-space instead of incentivizing redevelopment of the central core of places like Hamilton for example? Our city cores in many places need to be rejuvenated with better/newer projects and retrofitting the many diminishing unnecessary retail/church buildings etc.
For example, there are many single level properties along Yonge Street in Toronto that might be incentivized to build/replace with more levels/mid-rises etc. Bring the money downtown to improve and revitalize our urban areas. Kitchener is a great example of a city core that is turning around due to development. Places like Hamilton's core are crumbling because people's money and morale is crumbling. Let the zoning/bylaws/policies be lightened up there to advance progress/growth and utilize what we already have there. Put money in the hands of the cities and municipalities to create housing where they need it most. This, in turn, will redistribute money to the significant amount of small-sized, construction companies/owners who could also benefit.

7) In this shifting era of remote working, why are we not using less valuable land and spreading the wealth of development to areas that need the economic boost, such as North Bay? There we have under-utilized, recently built highways that are ready for major development. The highway congestion and increasing lack of safety due to vehicle volume, and lack of commuter trains is only going to adversely impact the mental health of those needing to use these over-worked highways, with slow infrastructure improvements. How will this be addressed without further asking for more taxpayer money to pay for the further expansion of the 401, 403 etc?

8) a) Employee shortages: WHO is going to be building these 1.5M homes quickly? Have Colleges been given funding for more educating of trades? Have we created processes to hire all of the displaced Ukrainians who are increasingly showing up and needing work that is at least a living wage? Have we made the process easy for young people or other immigrants to gain training instead of naturally yet unnecessarily, over-burdening our under-funded social services sector ? Perhaps builders/developers should be required to employ a defined number of apprentices, as one of their civic responsibilities in this overall proposal.

b) And with the limited trades we currently have, the typical homeowner who needs a tradesperson is going to compete with the now voracious developers----driving the price up for everyone? It appears that the larger context has not been considered. The ripple effect of this hasty proposal is going to be a horrendous legacy, economically, socially, morally, psychologically.

9) This dire need for more homes could have been such an incredible OPPORTUNITY to gain the trust of the citizens by ensuring that the majority of already strained homeowners are assisted, not just the wealthy few.

a)The government could have incentivized current homeowners to build extra units in their homes, or at the rear of their properties, by reducing the bureaucracy and costs and offering municipal guidance to ensure compliance.

b) Homeowner-friendly policies could have been created by investigating and enabling condominiums/ strata policies in large homes, like seen in Victoria, BC. A large home divided into 2+ legal entities etc. could allow younger people to get into the market while cooling it down with supply; instead low supply and aggressive interest rates to make it more difficult?

c) Time could be spent discussing with architects and planners some ingenious/effective ways to move forward quickly. Imaginative, resourceful and informed ways to improve what we already have and put the money in the typical homeowners' shrinking pockets.

d) Such a potentially missed opportunity to benefit many and allow Ontario residents to be partners in the process and grow along and contribute to the need and benefit economically; well beyond the borders of the GTA and well beyond the wallets of Developers......Corruption - something I never thought I would use to describe our Ontario Leadership. But it's here. This is not the Ontario I grew up in. We need to DO better, BE better.

10) TRANSPARENCY & DUE PROCESS: It is saddening how little our current Provincial Government shares information with its citizens. Thankfully, I found out about this consultation because I am retired and had time to write to an MPP. Most people are too busy trying to put food on the table to even read a paper or ask questions. How few people really know the implications of the Bill. The lack of straight forward discussion/presentation of the facts of the Bill by our Premier, and the swiftness in order to pass it, demonstrates such a clear lack of regard for its citizens. It's even sad that early December is the cutoff for comments here. In such a short time, people can barely have time to form their thoughts on san issue that is so hugely impactful on them.

However, in summary, it is my hope that the above concerns will be addressed here in these consultations. Massive changes are needed now, before the damage is done and can't be reversed. A wide-angle lense on the impact of the broader society and the future implications for years to come is necessary for informing future decisions.

May you all use your wisdom and discernment in your decision-making in the upcoming weeks to try and reshape this proposal into an intelligent, thoughtful plan where everyone can win.

Thank you for this opportunity to share my opinions and I hope they are thoughtfully considered.