Toronto City Council announced it has approved the 2023 Housing Action Plan, brought forward by Mayor John Tory and seconded by Councillor Brad Bradford (Beaches-East York), Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee. The new  plan for the 2022-2026 term of Council focuses on “getting more homes built or made available in Toronto as quickly as possible while also making housing more affordable.”

Updates to the City of Toronto’s planning rules and regulations are intended to help the City  “meet or exceed” its target of building 285,000 homes over the next 10 years. Council has directed the City Manager to report to Executive Committee on the 2023 Housing Action Plan no later than March 2023 with specific details, including timelines, measurable targets, and specific units created as this Plan is actioned.

The new plan addresses all aspects of the housing spectrum, from student housing to affordable housing to housing targets for the Portlands and Waterfront communities, and removes exclusionary zoning rules that have led to “focused growth” in just a few areas of the city, limiting choice for residents.

“The 2023 Housing Action Plan takes bold, aggressive action to address the affordability and housing crises facing our city. I will keep looking for new, innovative approaches so there are more affordable options for Torontonians to build their future in our city,” Mayor John Tory said. “This new Housing Action Plan sets aggressive targets to get more housing built with lightning speed. With Council’s support this week, we’ve taken a major step forward to ensuring that every Toronto resident has a place to call home. We are working together to tackle this housing crisis and ensure that our city is a welcoming place for everyone.”

Official Plan Policy and Regulatory Components of Tory’s 2023 Housing Action Plan:

• Amend the City-wide Zoning Bylaw to be more permissive from a housing opportunities perspective
• Complete the review of the City’s Official Plan to ensure that it aligns with the need for more housing in areas of the City identified for residential opportunities
• Review the City’s urban design guidelines, heritage standards and urban forestry policies to ensure alignment with the priority of optimizing the delivery of housing opportunities for a range of housing forms
• Amend the Zoning Bylaw to increase zoning permissions on major streets
• Amend the Zoning Bylaw to create transition zones between commercial and residential areas
• Increase density within Neighbourhoods through additional permissions, including but not limited to multiplex permissions and to remove exclusionary zoning
• Revisit the plans for the Portlands, Waterfront and other major change area projects to ensure housing density is optimized.

Housing System Policy and Program Components:

• Develop community housing intensification plans with specific targets that support and grow existing co-op and non-profit rental homes, plus add capacity for the sectors to be able to operate the new homes
• Update the Open Door Program and existing affordable housing programs to prioritize partnerships with non-profit and co-operative housing partners to create permanently affordable housing
• Create a post-secondary housing strategy in partnership with post-secondary institutions to increase the availability of student housing
• Develop a strategy to engage with school boards to encourage the creation of housing on their lands
• Develop training, trade and strategies to promote local hiring as necessary to increase construction market capacity and other industrial strategy approaches and levers that can be advocated to increase housing production
• Revisit approved Housing Now Initiative sites, including the opportunity to increase the residential density at 140 Merton Street, with the intention of increasing housing supply and supporting affordable housing delivery.

Public Accountability on Progress towards Overall Goals:

• Develop a publicly available database to track affordable rental units approved, under construction and built, and demolished under Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code and replaced through rental replacement and dwelling room Official Plan policies
• Ensure intensification is considered through the lens of the right to adequate housing, complete communities and the growth of infrastructure necessary to support livability, inclusion, sustainability and prosperity, and explore the acceleration of infrastructure development to match the acceleration of housing development.

Zoning bylaws

In addition to the 2023 Housing Action Plan, Council approved a new regulatory framework for Multi-Tenant Houses. This includes amendments to the licensing and zoning bylaws, which will make way for multi-tenant houses to operate legally across Toronto, subject to certain limits. Current zoning bylaws do not allow multi-tenant houses city-wide.

According to the City, this new regulatory framework will help it better respond to protect those already living in illegal housing and regulate deeply affordable and safe homes in all parts of the city. It will make it mandatory for all operators of multi-tenant houses across Toronto to obtain an annual licence, as well as introduce consistent standards, regulatory oversight and enforcement to help protect the safety of tenants and respond to neighbourhood concerns.

The new zoning and licensing bylaws come into effect on March 31, 2024. Until then, the current restrictions on multi-tenant houses apply. The staff report that outlines the new multi-tenant housing framework, including the phased approach to implementation, is available as part of today’s Council agenda .

“Access to safe, secure, affordable and well-maintained housing is fundamental to health and success within sustainable and successful communities,” said Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie (Scarborough-Rouge Park). “The 2023 Housing Action Plan offers an ambitious vision and framework for actions and measures to be taken immediately. We are committed to working hard to continue maintaining existing affordable homes and create new homes that are affordable as fast as possible.”

For further details visit: Agenda Item History – 2023.CC2.1 (toronto.ca)