One of the very best ways to…

One of the very best ways to provide quality, affordable, intergenerational housing is to build and support housing cooperatives. Ontario needs a bold plan to build thousands of cooperative housing units every year. If the Mike Harris government had not cancelled the co-op housing program, there would now be more than 100,000 additional units providing secure tenure at below market rates.

Equally important to increasing density is the need to control rents. Rent control should be tied to the housing unit not the tenant. Rents should not go up more than the allowed amount when tenants move. If the Mike Harris government had left rents tied to units the cost of rental housing would be much more affordable.

Garden and laneway suites are useful ways to gently increase housing in neighbourhoods. Zoning is not the only barrier. Fire services need to include small fire engines (such as are used in older European centres) that can easily access lanes and small spaces. Provincial funding is required for this equipment.

There is little point increasing density in our cities if the Province is going to build new highways and encourage sprawl. Stop new highway developments immediately.

The same thing is true if the Province allows municipalities to increase greenfield housing. It is time to stop all housing developments on greenfields everywhere in the Province. Then municipalities will be more proactive in creating infill opportunities and intensification within the current urban footprint.

Monster homes are eating up needed land, resources, construction materials, and trades. It is time to put an end to this over-consumption. The Province needs to set limits on the size of single-family units. The only "Monster homes " should be multi-unit/multi-family structures to accommodate people of special needs.

As-of right zoning needs to exist for housing shelters, group homes, supportive housing in all communities.

Preservation of heritage buildings and built forms needs to be part of any zoning considerations.

The MZO designation is incompatible with municipal planning. It should be abolished. In the very rare instance a Provincial decision is to override a municipal plan (the example of the Spadina Expressway comes to mind), the appeal should go to Cabinet. In effect, overriding municipal planning should be equivalent to the Emergency Measures Act and only used in the most egregious of situations.

All public lands should be held in public hands and leased, not sold, for development. The needs of the public will change over the decades as will the needed use of the lands. It is important not to lose our public lands, buildings, spaces.