We are in a time of great change as we tackle the ongoing local, provincial and national housing crisis. The foundation of the crisis is the unaffordability of housing, where we don’t have enough housing to meet the growing demand and where the cost of buying or renting housing has increased beyond what is considered affordable for many Canadians.

Many factors have contributed to this crisis including decades-old approaches to controlling housing form and supply, existing infrastructure capacity, demographics, immigration, a global pandemic, remote work, the financialization of existing housing into for-profit commodities, the proliferation of short-term rentals replacing existing housing, disrupted supply chains, an overall labour shortage with a specific shortage of skilled tradespeople, inflation, interest rates, and so on. It truly is a multi-faceted crisis that requires bold and innovative actions from everyone in our community including private individuals, skilled workers, non-profit organizations, private businesses, institutions and all levels of government.

Recently, the Provincial government has introduced a number of initiatives and legislative changes that are, at their foundation, intended to spark a paradigm shift in housing in order to meet a provincial goal of building 1.5 million new homes by 2031. While the City has opposed some initiatives and advocated for changes to some of the provincial legislation, the City fundamentally supports the push from the Province requiring a paradigm shift to help reduce barriers and costs to increase the overall supply of housing. We hear the call and, as a City, we are stepping up.

One of the Provincial initiatives included a request to 29 of the largest and fastest-growing municipalities in Ontario to prepare a pledge in response to a Municipal Housing Target established by the province. For Kingston, the target is 8,000 new homes by 2031, with a March 22nd deadline to submit a Municipal Housing Pledge. The Pledge must outline how the City will help support and encourage the construction of at least 8,000 new homes by 2031.

City staff have prepared a Municipal Housing Pledge for Council’s consideration at the upcoming meeting on February 21, 2023. The Pledge is now available online – it can be found in Exhibit B (page 10) to Report Number 23-063. The Pledge confirms that the City of Kingston is committed to being a leader in housing policy innovation, finding new ways to support the creation of affordable and supportive housing units, creating new incentives, and accelerating the processing of development applications. It outlines the many initiatives the City will be undertaking to help further reduce barriers to the construction of new housing. The City is also committed to exploring new ways to encourage a paradigm shift across all sectors, helping to facilitate new partnerships and leading by example with courageous new actions and bold ideas.

While the comprehensive review of our Official Plan was scheduled to begin in 2023, the timing has been delayed due to ongoing Provincial changes which propose to replace the existing Provincial Policy Statement and A Place to Grow with one brand new province-wide policy document. The outcome of this proposal will have significant impacts on the comprehensive review of the Official Plan, so this work has been delayed until more clarity and certainty are provided by the Province on this potential policy document. Ultimately, the comprehensive review is expected to bring forward significant changes to housing policies in the Official Plan to better align our most important policy document with the current challenges and opportunities we have as a community.

With the delayed comprehensive review, staff will be initiating amendments in the spring to the Official Plan, zoning by-law and site plan control by-law that are required to implement the changes made by Bill 23. Since urgent and bold actions are needed to help address the housing crisis, staff will also be proposing some more immediate amendments beyond those required by Bill 23 in order to better support affordable housing, housing supply, and housing innovation. Staff will be proposing some bold actions and revisiting long-held approaches controlling housing form and supply through this work. We encourage you to participate with an open mind, where you are also open to revisiting your own long-standing opinions about housing and new construction in the City.

Municipalities are often described as “creatures of the province”, this means that, as a City, we exist because the Province created legislation that gives a framework for municipalities, including what they can and cannot do. We can only use the tools and resources that the Province gives permission to through legislation. Cities, in general, do not construct housing and have very limited financial resources to fund new affordable and supportive housing programs. A number of those affordable and supportive housing programs are highlighted in the Pledge, including our new interdepartmental housing accelerator team, municipal capital funding contributions, upper-level government funding, additional residential unit affordable housing grant program, and other supportive housing services. Recent changes by the Province through Bill 23 mean that the City will have even fewer financial resources to provide affordable and supportive housing, as it is no longer an eligible service to be funded through development charges. As a City, we’re committed to taking advantage of every opportunity possible to build new affordable and supportive housing units. Affordable housing will be a key focus of City staff as we explore potential amendments to support housing innovation and incentives over the next few months and beyond.

Municipalities have no tools to require private landowners to build new homes and we are relying on everyone to step up with us to tackle the housing crisis. The Pledge focuses not only on actions the City will take to reduce barriers and create incentives, but also serves as a “call to action”. It encourages everyone with an asset, skillset, resource or innovative idea to bring your ideas and projects forward. Now is the time – the City of Kingston does not have the tools or resources to build 8,000 new homes by 2031 alone and we need your help.

Finally, the Pledge describes how the City will continue to advocate for more tools, resources and funding from the Provincial and Federal governments whenever it is appropriate. There are many options that would help to fund necessary housing-supportive infrastructure, regulations that could compel housing construction, and processes that could be streamlined if new tools were available to municipalities. The interest of residents of the City, both current and future, is paramount and we will continue to advocate in your interest.     

If you’re interested in participating in upcoming conversations about bold actions we can undertake as a City to tackle the housing crisis, I encourage you to sign up for the new Planning Updates Newsletter by filling out the fields and selecting the “Planning Project Updates” option. We will send out information as these ideas and bold actions begin to take shape over the next few months.