Ontario’s proposed…

Ontario’s proposed Provincial Planning Statement (PPS) touches on several aspects of rural housing. The comments and assessment which follows relates to the idea of rural densification and how the PPS addresses this or could be improved to better respond to this objective.

Rural densification is not much different than its city counterpart, urban intensification which is covered in the PPS. The term “intensification” is defined in the PPS as:

Intensification: means the development of a property, site or area at a higher density than currently exists through:

a) redevelopment, including the reuse of brownfield sites;

b) the development of vacant and/or underutilized lots within previously developed areas;

c) infill development; and

d) the expansion or conversion of existing buildings.

Underpinning this definition is the idea that areas that have already been developed can be developed further by leveraging underutilized spaces within the existing municipal footprint. The logic is simple, leverage existing infrastructure and public service facilities. This can lead to faster expansion of housing by not linking housing to the need to build significant new infrastructure/facilities (i.e. networks to transport utilities, roads) which takes time and additional public funds. It can also prove more cost effective for municipalities and builders by saving the associated time and costs of these elements in unserviced areas. Builders further advance the intensification objective by maximizing the number of housing units (i.e. density) within a particular space available for development. Invariably this is achieved most economically by building multi-unit spaces upward, either in the form of apartments or condominiums.

Just like urban municipalities, intensification as described in the PPS definition is possible in rural municipalities that have an urban footprint and associated infrastructure. However, these municipalities tend to have a limited designated urban/serviced area and the cost and lead time to add infrastructure (e.g. water and wastewater management capacity) can be long and prohibitive given the limited tax base the rural municipality can draw from. Moreover, housing in rural municipalities is invariably low-rise in nature, both in keeping with the historic character of these communities and the limited scope of public infrastructure when compared with large urban municipalities.

Yet Ontario is filled with hundreds of rural municipalities that are housing almost two million Ontarians. Like any municipality, these communities need ongoing growth to: thrive, offer economic opportunities, and support public service facilities. This is coloured by the fact that their demographic age profile tends to be older than urban areas which can undermine their growth rate (e.g. higher ratio of retirees). This is then exacerbated where there is limited housing supply for new residents who may want to come to the municipality, as well as housing options for young people who grew up there and want to stay.

At the same time, rural municipalities benefit from the ongoing expansion of high-speed internet which is key infrastructure underpinning their development and is neutral on where expansion occurs in a rural municipality. This recent enhancement to rural life reflects the public policy position that rural living is an important part of the fabric of Ontario and a contributor to the province’s development and broader socio-economic needs and goals. With this understanding, and the belief that rural densification can offer an avenue to pursue these objectives, to what extent does the PPS reflect this? This is explained in greater detail below. The brief chart which follows expands on the concept of rural densification and how it can contribute to future housing solutions.

RURAL DENSIFICATION: development on non-agricultural rural lands that seeks to maximize the amount of housing on those lands while relying on existing public service facilities and acceptable forms of water and waste management

- Responds to the need for housing in rural communities (particularly in terms of rental units)

- Provides a rural equivalent to urban intensification to respond to housing gaps quickly and efficiently

- Prioritizes housing development of non-agricultural rural lands that optimizes the number of dwellings on these lands.

- Prioritizes developments that promote right size higher density new housing, such as small/micro/tiny homes, that require less energy to operate and build, while reducing construction and operating waste

- Smaller homes lend themselves to factory-built options which can: 1. lower costs, 2. provide high quality new homes built to CSA/Ontario Building Code standards, 3. speed up deployment of new homes via smaller size and standardized manufacturing processes, while 4. reducing inspection burden on rural municipalities by having preapproved dwellings that do not require municipal oversight through the building process of each home added to their community

- Provides a more affordable path to a home through a smaller home footprint that can be delivered in the form of home ownership or rental housing.

- Smaller in situ local footprint is environmentally oriented by removing the distance associated with delivering public waste and water services. This in turn lowers costs of developments and speeds up deployment of housing. This approach reflects an eco-system management approach by using and keeping (treated) water on site.

- Is a more efficient and effective way of servicing new homes outside existing public services in that municipality. Specifically, communal servicing has its costs borne by the private sector and uses mature technology that can be deployed quickly and scaled up, as necessary.

- Relies on existing public service facilities (including roads) and extends their use by growing the rural community, without the need to expand public infrastructure (particularly water and sewage).

- Housing can be deployed quickly and efficiently, allowing rural municipalities to respond to economic opportunities and social pressures (e.g. immigrant influx) in real time

- Allows for phased development that reduces risks to builders and municipalities

- Protects agricultural lands while providing a means for rural communities to thrive and contribute to Ontario’s growth

- In line with, and builds on, the elements of the draft Provincial Planning Statement.