10th floor, West Tower, City Hall
100 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M5H 2N2
Attention: Nancy Martins
Re: BPH28.1 Inclusionary Zoning Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and Draft Implementation Guidelines
This is to express the strong support of the Federation of North Toronto Residents Associations (FoNTRA) for the proposed Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) policy.
The proposed policy lays the foundation for IZ in Toronto. It supports individuals and families in our city who earn too much to be eligible for social housing, but not enough to afford market rents and prices. City Planning claims that the proposed framework balances the need to create more inclusive and equitable communities, provides certainty about expectations for affordable housing, and ensures the City continues to support overall housing supply. City Planning commits to monitor implementation of the new policy, and review and report back within three years.
New condominiums located around transit stations will be required to set aside five to 10 per cent of the development as affordable housing beginning in 2022, ramping up to eight to 22 per cent by 2030. All affordable units would remain affordable for 99 years, ensuring rents and resale prices are restricted over the long term. This policy is expected to create thousands of affordable units over the next few years. It has been long in gestation, and has incorporated experience from other jurisdictions. The City is making a bold step and needs to be supported by the federal and provincial governments with increased subsidies for assisted and supportive housing in order to make access to housing more equitable.
Yours truly,
Geoff Kettel
Co-Chair, FoNTRA
Cathie Macdonald
Co-Chair, FoNTRA
cc: Gregg Lintern, Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division