Council Adopts Sweeping New Zoning Policy That Will Require Some Developers to Construct Affordable Housing Alongside Market-Rate Units
City council has adopted a sweeping new zoning policy which will require that some developers construct affordable housing alongside market-rate units starting in 2022.
The new inclusionary zoning framework will require that condominiums with 100 or more units set aside five to 10 per cent of their total square footage for affordable rental and ownership units at first.
But the policy aims to increase the share of units
that must be set aside for affordable housing to eight to 22 per cent by 2030,
depending on the location of the development and the type of below-market rate
unit that is provided.
The city says that the affordable units would be
priced so that households making between $32,486 and $91,611 per year can live
in them without shelling out more than 30 per cent of their monthly income on
shelter costs.
According to a staff report, one-bedroom
apartments would therefore go for $1,090 a month while two-bedroom apartments
would go for $1,661 and three-bedroom apartments would go for $1,858.
Ownership costs would be capped at $190,100 for a
one-bedroom unit, $242,600 for a two-bedroom unit or $291,700 for a
three-bedroom unit.
The rules won’t apply to purpose-built rental
units until 2026 as the city continues its effort to encourage the development
of that type of housing.
“In a nutshell, inclusionary zoning means by law
that new developments must include an affordable housing component where rents
or the cost of ownership will be less than our expensive marketplace otherwise
offers,” Mayor John Tory told reporters at city hall on Tuesday morning. “The
private development industry has been very successful, even through the
pandemic, and that's good for jobs and for the economy. But the long term
health of the city itself and its economy requires that our development
industry should play an increasing role in the supply of affordable housing.”
Continue to read on: CP24.com