Committee Recommendation
That Council approve the
attached report be sent to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing as the
City’s submission to Ontario’s Consultation to create a Long-Term Affordable
Housing Strategy.
Recommandation DU Comité
Que le Conseil approuve que le rapport ci-joint
soit envoyé au ministre des Affaires municipales et du Logement, à titre d’observations de la Ville dans le
cadre de la consultation du gouvernement de l’Ontario visant à créer une stratégie à long terme de logement
abordable.
Documentation
1. Deputy City Manager's report, City
Operations dated 3 December 2009 (ACS2009-COS-CAS-0019).
Report to/Rapport au :
Community and Protective
Services Committee
Comité des services communautaires et de protection
and Council/et au
Conseil
December 3, 2009/ le 3 décembre 2009
Steve Kanellakos, Deputy
City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint,
City
Operations/Opérations municipales
Contact
Persons/Personnes ressource :
Janice
Burelle, Acting General Manager, Community and Social Services Department/ directrice générale par intérim, Services
sociaux et communautaires
(613)
580-2424 x/poste 43081, janice.burelle@ottawa.ca
|
Ref N°: ACS2009-COS-CAS-0019 |
That the Community and Protective Services Committee
recommends that Council approve that the attached report be sent to the
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing as the City’s submission to Ontario’s
Consultation to create a Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité des
services communautaires et de protection recommande l’approbation par le
Conseil de l’envoi du rapport ci-joint au ministre des Affaires municipales et du Logement, à titre
d’observations de la Ville dans le cadre de la consultation du gouvernement de
l’Ontario visant à créer une stratégie
à long terme de logement abordable.
Between June and December, 2009 the Province of Ontario is undertaking a
consultation to inform the creation of a Long-Term Affordable Housing
Strategy. City staff have participated
in local consultations using the City Housing Strategy as the reference
document for key messages delivered during these consultations. The Annex to this report contains the City’s
written submission to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
BACKGROUND
In June of this year, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) launched a consultation to inform the creation of a Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy for Ontario.
In its Consultation Guide MMAH states that the goal of the new, long-term (10 years) housing strategy is to make it easier for Ontario families and individuals to find and maintain affordable housing. The Consultation Guide poses 5 questions and proposes a Vision, Principles and Goals as the foundation that will ultimately frame the strategy.
From June to September 2009, a series of consultation sessions were held across the province. Staff from the City’s Community and Social Services and Planning and Growth Management Departments attended the three consultations held in Ottawa, hosted by Minister Watson, Minister Meilleur and MPPs Yasir Nadqvi and Phil McNeely. Additionally, Ontarians have the opportunity to provide written input until December 31, 2009.
To inform staff’s key
messages voiced during the consultation sessions, a document was prepared that
drew primarily from the City Housing Strategy (CHS). This document was shared with the Mayor and
Councillors in July to provide them with an opportunity for input into the key
messages.
DISCUSSION
Safe, affordable housing as a key social determinant of health is
broadly recognized. Should the Provincial Government adopt and adequately fund
a Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy that reflects the Vision, Principles
and Goals articulated in its Consultation Guide, the social, economic, and
physical well being of Ontario’s communities and residents will be well
served. Through this submission the
City of Ottawa makes an important contribution to this critical public policy.
The attached submission builds primarily on the long-term vision,
principles, values and directions articulated in the CHS, with one exception
that is flagged as such in the report.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no specific rural implications.
CONSULTATION
This report was developed through internal consultations with City staff and with input from the Poverty Issues Advisory Committee and the Health and Social Services Advisory Committee.
LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS:
There are no legal/risk management impediments to implementing the recommendations in this report.
FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
There are no financial implications.
SUPPORTING
DOCUMENTATION
Annex 1 - Key Messages in Response to Consultation
Questions
ANNEX 1
City of Ottawa
Submission
to the
Minister
of Municipal Affairs and Housing
In Response to
Ontario’s
Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy Consultation
December 2009
A. Introduction
The City of Ottawa appreciates the
opportunity to provide input into the Provincial Long-Term Affordable Housing
Strategy Consultation. The key messages and comments contained in this document
build on the City Housing Strategy (CHS) approved by Council in November
2007.
The framework laid out in the Province’s
consultation document offers considerable potential for building a Long-Term
Affordable Housing Strategy that will meet the needs of both the Province of
Ontario and the City of Ottawa.
The City acknowledges and applauds the
Province’s increasing role and attention given to housing issues. While the City’s role in the provision of
affordable housing is significant, it is fully acknowledged that all three orders
of government must be fully engaged to plan and work cooperatively in a
sustainable fashion to address the housing and related support needs of all
citizens, and to meet the City’s target of creating 500 affordable housing
units per year. The Federal government
must also play a leadership role by creating a National Housing Strategy that
would establish a sustainable funding framework, and an overarching, integrated
policy framework that is responsive and flexible to meeting local needs.
The City of Ottawa encourages the
Province to embrace a systems approach to housing that:
·
Incorporates a
long-term vision;
·
Lays out an
integrated, holistic, and comprehensive plan;
·
Is flexible,
responsive and builds on local community needs and priorities;
·
Encourages partnerships
and develops community capacity;
·
Respects the
role and public accountability inherent in municipal government; and
·
Is based on a
sustainable funding approach that recognizes the differential
revenue-generating capacities of provincial and municipal governments.
The comments and key messages contained
in this document build on this overarching perspective. The format of the
remainder of this document is that each section begins with either the question
or the proposal from the Provincial Consultation document and is followed by
comments largely drawn from the Council approved City of Ottawa’s perspective
as articulated in the CHS.
B. Consultation
Questions
1.
What specific roles should each of the housing partners play in
the delivery of affordable housing?
|
Housing partners |
Role of Each Partner |
|
Municipal Government |
·
Create, implement and monitor a
long-term local housing strategy that reflects local community needs and
priorities, builds community capacity, and is integrated with the local human
service plan ·
Work to ensure provincial and
federal government policies support the local plan ·
Influence and collaborate with
other orders of government ·
Adopt a ‘housing first’ policy for use of surplus municipal government
land, where appropriately located ·
Create and implement guidelines
for inclusionary planning ·
Deliver and administer programs
within a portfolio management approach, according to established outcomes and
service levels ·
Work cooperatively with other orders of government to educate the public
on the importance of integrating all forms of affordable housing into
existing communities when opportunities arise to prevent the backlash from
community associations and property owners when they learn of a new
government assisted development being built in their 'backyard' |
|
Provincial Government |
·
Create and implement a
long-term, sustainable Provincial Housing Strategy, based on an overarching,
integrated Provincial policy framework that promotes and supports local
planning and service delivery ·
Work with municipal and federal
partners to create a sustainable funding model that meets the wide range of
housing needs identified in local plans ·
Assume responsibility for the
income redistribution portion of existing and new affordable housing ·
Adopt a ‘housing first’ policy for use of surplus provincial
government land, where appropriately located; including school sites when they are sold for
development ·
Provide access to low cost financing ·
Provide municipalities with the
legislative framework to require affordable housing in new development or
redevelopment ·
Work cooperatively with other orders of government to educate the
public on the importance of integrating all forms of affordable housing into
existing communities when opportunities arise to prevent the backlash from
community associations and property owners when they learn of a new
government assisted development being built in their 'backyard' ·
Make required legislated changes to ensure the existing social housing
remains a public benefit even after agreements and mortgages expire |
|
Federal Government |
·
Create and implement a National
Housing Strategy; establish overarching, integrated policy framework from a
national perspective that is responsive and flexible to meeting local needs ·
Align infrastructure and community development policies to support
community housing objectives (e.g. link road or transit funding to community
sustainability plans that address the provision of affordable housing) ·
Provide access to low cost financing ·
Adopt a ‘housing first’ policy for use of surplus federal government
land, where appropriately located ·
Working with provincial and municipal partners, provide ongoing,
sustained funding for housing initiatives that address low and moderate
income needs – for new
builds, repairs and renovations, Residential Rehabilitation Assistance
Program (RRAP), housing supports etc; and for services that prevent
and end homelessness ·
Work cooperatively with other orders of government to educate the
public on the importance of integrating all forms of affordable housing into
existing communities when opportunities arise to prevent the backlash from
community associations and property owners when they learn of a new
government assisted development being built in their 'backyard' |
|
Non-profit and Cooperative Housing
Providers |
·
Collaborate with government and
key stakeholders ·
Identify community and tenant
needs and priorities and share / advocate with all orders of government ·
Work with local agencies such as
support service organizations to identify access points to housing and
support services, and how to improve access through better coordination ·
Deliver new and existing housing
programs according to expected outcomes ·
Propose creative ways to create
new housing and services that meet local community needs |
|
Private Sector Developers and
Landlords |
·
Collaborate with government and
key stakeholders ·
Participate in creative
problem-solving to build / create affordable housing and to create
sustainable, inclusive communities ·
Build affordable housing ·
Maintain and renovate existing
privately owned affordable housing to keep it in a good state of repair and
at affordable rents |
|
People Who are in Need of Affordable
Housing |
·
Participate in local
consultations and planning initiatives ·
Share housing related needs and
priorities with housing providers as well as all orders of government ·
Propose solutions to identified
needs |
2.
What changes are
needed to our housing programs to better use resources and improve access to
affordable housing? Changes could include modifications to the Affordable
Housing Program or the simplification of housing and homelessness programs.
Affordable
Housing
·
Increase the funding for affordable
housing so that housing needs for people in the 10th – 30th
income percentile are met for rental housing and up to the 40th
income percentile for home ownership; allow stacking of funds from different
sources to achieve these goals.
·
Provide flexibility in terms of
establishing program outcomes so that funding can be used to meet locally determined
housing and related support needs within a broader provincial context.
·
The affordable housing program needs to reduce costs of the housing and
raise incomes at the lower end of the income spectrum.
·
One way to address the affordability gap
is to increase funding available for rent supplements / housing allowances and
have them follow the residents when they move.
·
Ensure smart
growth policies address local gaps in meeting housing needs such as unmet need
for a diversity of affordable housing types.
·
Increase funding for Brownfield
redevelopment that includes the creation of new affordable housing units.
·
Additional funding is needed to increase
the accessibility of existing housing stock for people with mobility
challenges.
·
A major concern among municipalities
since social housing was devolved is the unfunded liability associated with
capital repairs to maintain the existing stock. The Province needs to provide
adequate funding to ensure that communities maintain this valuable asset in
good condition into the future.
·
The Federal Government should ensure
that its current funding envelope does not decrease. Under the current funding
structure, the Federal funding envelope has already begun to decrease as
mortgages and housing agreements expire. These funds should remain in the
housing system to be used to develop new affordable housing programs.
Delivery of housing and homelessness services
·
Simplify and integrate the policies
regarding eligibility for social housing and other social service programs such
as social assistance and discretionary benefits, Long Term Care, child
care (e.g. definition of income;
earnings exemptions / deductions, asset levels).
·
Actively resource, support and promote information
sharing practices among service providers – e.g. among social assistance,
housing, childcare programs.
·
Increase funding for supportive housing options for
vulnerable seniors, and other vulnerable, at-risk people who need access to
various support services to successfully maintain housing and to fully
integrate within the community, such as: mental health supports, addiction
services, concurrent and co-occurring disorders services, counselling, daily
living and employment supports.
·
Expand domiciliary hostel funding in order to respond
to community solutions to homelessness.
·
Enhance resources for ‘housing first’
type programs for homeless and ‘at risk’ people, and improve inter-ministerial
cooperation and integration for sustainable funding of needed health, social
and counselling services to assist homeless and ‘at risk’ people to obtain and
maintain stable, appropriate housing.
·
Position emergency shelters and domiciliary hostels
within the housing continuum, and create a service delivery model that is based
on modern standards for housing, for service delivery and for personal privacy.
Eviction Prevention Initiatives
·
Increase asset levels associated with
eligibility for a range of social services to ensure people living in poverty
have a reasonable cushion against unusual circumstances.
·
Rent Bank is an important eviction
prevention tool; however, several amendments are necessary for it to be more
effective:
o
Administration fees to service providers
should be increased from 10% to15–20% in order to ensure there are enough staff
to respond to applicants in a timely manner;
o
Eligibility should be extended to
include current RGI tenants;
o
The eligibility restrictions need to be
flexible to respond to local, community and economic changes (For example, the
bus strike in Ottawa put many people at financial risk – it was local – however
many employees were affected and needed rent bank funds – they may not be
eligible under the new rules as a result of the income caps effective October
1, 2009); and
o
The Household Income Level cap –
(effective October 1, 2009) needs to take into consideration the number of
dependents living in a household and be determined on a case-by-case situation.
For example, available annual income can be severely impacted by lack of
subsidized childcare, increased costs for aging in place, etc.
3. What changes are required to the Social Housing Reform Act, 2000
to reduce the regulatory burden and improve the management of social housing?
·
Undertake legislative changes to reduce
the number of rigid, prescribed rules for dealing with very complex issues;
thereby enabling the social housing system to effectively address the unique
needs and concerns of individual households and communities.
·
The Province should provide greater
local control and flexibility to Service Managers for the effective operation
of social housing, through a simplified accountability structure with less
procedural and bureaucratic requirements.
·
Social Housing Providers need discretion
to operate their housing portfolios responsibly, while supported with appropriate
accountability measures.
·
Utility scales and service
charges/allowances must be regularly updated to reflect realistic, current
costs.
·
RGI rent calculations and subsidies for
households in receipt of Ontario Works and ODSP should not be based on
the “rent scales” as set out in the SHRA.
For those in receipt of Ontario Works or ODSP the “rent allowance”
portion of the benefit should be used as the household’s contribution toward
rent and utilities. This would eliminate the significant extra subsidy that
CMSMs / DSSABs pay on behalf of the Province of Ontario, and improve the amount
of employment-related income that tenants would retain from full-time
earnings. (See Social Housing Services
Corporation’s paper entitled “Snakes and Ladders: Ending Poverty Traps By
Rebuilding Livelihoods in Social Housing”, November 2007).
4. What creative new ideas could improve the current housing
system? This could include new planning tools, innovative financial options and
new green technologies.
·
Enact Provincial legislation to direct
municipalities to require inclusion of housing at prices affordable to lower
income households in the (re)development of land, in exchange for other
financial and regulatory incentives. (This statement is not in the CHS.)
·
For example, the City of Ottawa could
invest in Inclusionary Planning practices through the provision of cost offsets
such as fee or tax relief, increased densities and alternative development
standards to ensure housing development remains attractive to the private sector,
while increasing the supply of affordable housing.
·
Alternative development standards could
mean either the general use of flexible planning and engineering standards for
urban development or the modification of standards for specific uses such as
affordable or supportive housing.
·
Simplify and clarify mechanisms to
ensure ‘below market’ housing remains affordable for as long as needed, as
identified in local housing plans.
·
To promote and support local planning
and decision-making, the Province should move to a ‘portfolio management
approach’ to housing, rather than working within existing program
parameters. This would require
modifying existing program operating agreements, but would support more
effective use of available resources to meet the needs of each community.
·
Province should fund demonstration
projects and create awards to showcase innovative housing solutions, Brownfield
redevelopment and / or the use of green technologies.
·
Additionally, the City encourages the
Federal and Provincial governments to support and fund housing initiatives that
are at the forefront of energy efficiency.
·
Facilitate the redevelopment and refinancing of
social housing by amending regulations that limit innovation in leveraging the
use of social housing assets for investments in building repairs, expansions
and energy retrofits.
·
Initiate a rehabilitation assistance program, similar
to the former (provincial) Ontario Home Renewal Program (OHRP), to fully meet
the needs of lower-income homeowners for home repairs and modifications.
·
Initiate a grant or low-interest loan program to
encourage and promote the creation of secondary dwellings units (otherwise
known as granny flats or accessory apartments) as an alternative form of
affordable housing and as a way to promote aging in place.
·
Eliminate the
land transfer tax on affordable housing developments.
·
Explore options for mitigating the
impacts on lower income households of the increasing costs associated with
escalating property assessments and utility costs.
·
Ensure that
income policies and income support programs (e.g. minimum wage, Ontario Works,
Ontario Disability Support Program, rent supplements and shelter allowances)
fully address the cost of housing and are well coordinated with housing supply
programs such as the Rental and Supportive Housing Program under the
Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program.
5. What should be used as the housing indicator for Ontario’s
Poverty Reduction Strategy? In this context, what do terms like affordable,
adequate and suitable housing mean to you?
·
Ontario’s
Poverty Reduction Strategy is multi-faceted.
The City of Ottawa supports the Strategy’s holistic approach.
·
From a housing
perspective the Strategy needs to support an effective housing system that
provides adequate funding for both capital and operating programs, plus
improved income supports for households in the lower income percentiles.
·
As an indicator
of progress for Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy all of the above three
aspects need to be tracked.
·
The City requests the
Province to index increases to the minimum wage and income support under
Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program to reflect current
living standards and annual cost of living adjustments; and include
a shelter component maximum equal to 100 percent of the median market rent for
each local housing market, based on annual statistics collected by CMHC, as another mechanism to address
housing affordability.
·
Defining affordable
– from the City’s Official Plan. - Affordable housing is defined as housing for
which a household pays no more than thirty percent of income. It is targeted to
households with incomes between the 10th and 30th income percentiles for
rental housing and the 40th income percentile and below for
ownership housing. Affordability
guidelines should vary to reflect different household / unit sizes (e.g.
multiple bedrooms according to family size).
·
Defining adequate – means a supply of rental and home ownership
options to meet the needs of all low and moderate-income households.
·
Defining suitable – means:
o
The quality of
the housing promotes healthy living and offers a healthy environment;
o
There is sufficient variety in the types of housing available that it
will meet the needs of the wide diversity of disabilities;
o
There is
sufficient variety in the size of the housing units to meet the needs of
different household sizes; and
o
There are
sufficient support services to assist people to obtain and maintain their
housing.
C. Framework
1. Vision
Proposed Vision: “To improve
Ontarians’ access to adequate, suitable and affordable housing and provide a
solid foundation on which to secure employment, raise families and build strong
communities.”
Comments:
·
Solid vision – the City likes that it speaks to adequacy, suitability and
affordability
·
Reflects Ottawa’s CHS statement that “housing is fundamental to
the economic, social and physical well-being of … families and communities”;
and “Community prosperity is improved when all community members have access to
affordable, appropriate housing from which they can engage in the local
economy.”
·
From the CHS Executive Summary - Housing is a basic human need,
and is the central place from which we build our lives, nurture our children
and ourselves, and engage in our communities. At the same time, housing is the
fundamental building block of healthy, inclusive, sustainable communities.
2. Principles
Proposed
Principles:
The City supports the 8
principles put forward by the Province.
However, the City of Ottawa proposes the addition of another principle –
‘Basic human right – Safe, adequate, affordable housing is valued as a basic
human right’.
The following 8 principles
are those proposed by the Province, followed by the City’s comment.
2.1
People-centered - Programs,
services and supports will be responsive to need, and focus on positive results
for individuals and families
Comments:
· From the CHS - Partners in Ottawa’s Housing System – The resident, or would be resident, is viewed as being at the centre of the circle of partners.
· It is essential to recognize the importance of the spectrum of services and supports that make accessing and maintaining housing possible for all Ontarians.
2.2
Partnership-based - Engaged individuals, families and
communities work with all levels of government, Aboriginal partners, the
not-for-profit, co-op and private sectors to build and maintain healthy,
sustainable and inclusive neighbourhoods.
Comments:
·
This principle is consistent with Ottawa’s CHS,
which states “Housing is more than just shelter. It is the system of assets, financing, services, supports,
policies and programs that enable Ottawa’s citizens to nurture themselves and
their children and engage in their communities.”
2.3 Key
Partnerships – Province, Federal Government, Municipal Governments, Non-Profit
and Co-operatives, Individuals and Families, Private
Sector.
2.4
Comments:
·
Over ninety percent of housing in Ottawa is supplied by the private
sector. The private sector plays a lead role in creating and maintaining an
adequate overall supply of housing that keeps pace with demand and reflects
market affordability. The public sector has an important role to play in
facilitating, monitoring and regulating the continued supply of private sector
housing to ensure that community priorities are met.
The nonprofit and cooperative sector supplies
approximately seven percent of housing in the city and much of the support
services that are necessary to assist people to obtain and retain housing. It
plays a central role in providing housing and support services for lower income
households. The City owns Ottawa’s
largest non-profit housing provider, Ottawa Community Housing Corporation.
The public sector plays a crucial role in supporting
nonprofit initiatives through, for example, funding programs and regulating
service standards.
The full and active participation of all orders of
government is essential to the creation and evolution of a holistic,
integrated, dynamic affordable housing system.
Refer to Section B, question # 1 for more details on the various roles
of the different partners.
2.5
Flexible and Long-term - The strategy will respond to the
diversity of Ontario’s communities and the changing needs of Ontarians over the
long term.
Comments:
·
The CHS calls for a long-term housing investment
strategy that meets the needs of all residents of Ottawa, and addresses the
affordability gap by both reducing the cost of housing and by raising the
incomes at the lower end of the income continuum.
2.6
Coordinated - Policy objectives such as poverty
reduction, economic stimulus, accessibility, energy efficiency and a green
economy should be an integral part of housing policy.
Comments:
·
One of the CHS strategies is: Develop a more
comprehensive, coordinated framework of public policies, programs and tools
that provide an integrated response to addressing housing issues in local
communities.
·
A good example of integrated policy implementation is ensuring that
senior government investments in public infrastructure are targeted to
communities that incorporate strategies on housing diversity and affordability
into local long-term sustainability plans.
·
From the CHS
Executive Summary - Social and economic development is strongly related to how well our
housing stock supports the range of needs and choices we have as residents of a
city. Our individual and societal impact on the environment is directly related
to how, where and for whom we build housing (Same comment under 2.8).
2.7
Fiscally Responsible - Achieving the vision will require
sustainable investments that are consistent with the fiscal capacity of each
level of government.
Comments:
·
From the CHS - Federal and Provincial
governments have central roles to play in providing these resources because
affordable housing supports Federal and Provincial social and economic
development policies and, through their control over income and corporate
taxation, they have the fiscal capacity and responsibility to support the
development of affordable housing.
It is also important that public initiatives leverage the participation and
expertise of the nonprofit and cooperative sector, private sector developers
and landlords and financial institutions.
2.8
Accountable - Clearly defined roles and
responsibilities for all partners will help avoid duplication and overlap of
services.
Comments:
·
From the CHS - The public sector has an important role to play in
facilitating, monitoring and regulating the continued supply of private sector
housing to ensure that community priorities are met.
Accountability measures should respect and reflect that municipalities are the
order of government closest to the people with the most direct and visible
accountability relationships with its citizens.
2.9
Market Supportive - The strategy will contain a mix of
solutions to promote a healthy, diverse housing marketplace that helps
Ontarians access affordable housing.
Comments:
·
From the CHS
Executive Summary - Social and economic development is strongly related to how well our
housing stock supports the range of needs and choices we have as residents of a
city. Our individual and societal impact on the environment is directly related
to how, where and for whom we build housing.
3. Goals
Proposed Goals:
3.1
Opportunities for Ontarians to Achieve their Housing Goals -
Families and individuals have opportunities and support to
obtain affordable housing so that they can succeed and contribute to their
communities.
Comments:
·
From the CHS Executive Summary - Housing is a basic human need,
and is the central place from which we build our lives, nurture our children
and ourselves and engage in our communities. At the same time, housing is the
fundamental building block of healthy, inclusive, sustainable communities.
3.2
Local Solutions in a Flexible Provincial Framework - Local
governments can apply local solutions to local problems within a flexible
provincial framework that links to provincial interests and objectives.
Comments:
·
From the CHS - Federal and Provincial governments have the
legislative, taxation and jurisdictional powers that make them crucial partners
in addressing housing needs and issues in local communities. In Canada, it is
widely acknowledged that a more comprehensive, coordinated framework of
policies, programs and tools is needed to address housing issues. Within this
broad framework, increased local control over policy development and
implementation can more effectively address specific local needs.
3.3
Innovative Financing and Sustainable Funding - Predictable,
sustainable investment and innovative financing by all orders of
government.
Comments:
·
The CHS speaks to sustainable investments in a comprehensive
manner. The following are a few
excerpts to demonstrate this.
o
Capital support for new affordable housing development addresses the
cost of housing and promotes long-term investment in our neighbourhoods to keep
them affordable and inclusive.
o
A good example of integrated policy implementation is ensuring that
senior government investments in public infrastructure are targeted to
communities that incorporate strategies on housing diversity and affordability
into local, long-term sustainability plans.
o
In determining incentives for affordable housing development, the City
takes into account the return on public investments in terms of achieving
policy objectives such as long-term affordability.
3.4
Strong, Engaged Housing Partners - Housing
partners contribute to achieving our vision for housing in Ontario through
innovation and by applying best practices.
Comments:
·
See comments
above under the Principles section – points 2.2 and 2.3.
3.5 A Healthy
Private Marketplace - Ontario has a healthy private market for
housing that meets the long-term needs of Ontarians.
Comments:
·
As noted in 2.3
above, 90% of
housing in Ottawa is supplied by the private sector. Hence, a healthy private market is critical to the provision of
affordable housing in inclusive, sustainable communities.