We Love Oakville

Province releases its housing plan:

https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1001895/ontario-is-making-it-easier-to-buy-a-home

Ontario is Making It Easier to Buy a Home | Ontario Newsroom Ontario is Making It Easier to Buy a Home | Ontario Newsroom

BREAKING NEWS✨

The Province says that it will not impose a one-size-fits-all approach to the housing issue.

We are pleased that the government has listened to a number of our concerns over the Housing Task Force Recommendations.

Among the highlights, the legislation being brought forward doesn't change Heritage protections and it maintains the character of established neighborhoods. Our local voice and our official plan, Livable Oakville, remain intact and we can continue on the path of intensification around our transportation hubs.

Yesterday's government news release also states, "Ontario commits to a housing supply action every year over four years, starting in 2022-23, with policies and tools that support implementing the recommendations from the housing affordability Task Force's report."

WLO will continue to monitor the exact implications of the legislation and the government's plans for housing as they evolve. We thank everyone for their continued engagement and support.

We❤️Oakville

Did you know that one of the Housing Affordability Task Force recommendations is to allow you or your neighbour to build a 4 storey, 4 unit apartment building on *ANY* residential lot? 6-11 storeys if you’re on a bus route!

We are all for intensification but this just seems reckless. Make your voice heard⤵️

https://act.newmode.net/action/we-love-oakville/say-yes-locally-planned-growth-no-dismantling-our-neighbourhoods-and-more

Tell the Ontario Premier and Housing Minister:

✅YES to locally planned growth
❌NO to dismantling our neighbourhoods and more sprawl

Our Housing Afforabilty Campaign is LIVE! Send your letter now!⤵️

https://act.newmode.net/action/we-love-oakville/say-yes-locally-planned-growth-no-dismantling-our-neighbourhoods-and-more

Home Housing Affordability Campaign TELL THE PROVINCE YES TO LOCALLY PLANNED GROWTH; NO TO DISMANTLING OUR NEIGHBOURHOODS AND MORE SPRAWL The Ontario government has announced that it will soon enact radical new legislation aimed at speeding up the permitting process for new housing, under the guis...

https://oakvillenews.org/opinion/housing-affordability-plan-destoys-neighbourhoods-creates-urban-sprawl/

Ford’s Housing affordability plan takes apart neighbourhoods and supports urban sprawl Chair of We Love Oakville expresses a commitment for in-fill development to meet population growth needs, but not the one size fits all approach to zoning the provincial government is proposing.

Media Release

March 14, 2022

For Immediate Release



Ford’s Housing Affordability plan takes apart neighbourhoods and supports urban sprawl



Under the guise of making housing more affordable, the Ontario government has announced it will soon enact radical new legislation aimed at speeding up the permitting process for new housing,



The proposed legislation will do little, if anything, to address runaway housing prices. The key beneficiaries will be developers.



The new legislation will dismantle existing neighbourhoods, remove local controls on development, dismantle environmental and heritage protections, burden existing home owners with higher property taxes to pay for new services for new home owners and effectively silence local voices on planning matters. And most municipalities already have solid plans to meet existing provincial housing targets



Some of the more controversial recommendations include removing local planning rules in favour of single province-wide rules, limiting public input about developments, down-loading many development costs back onto municipalities and existing home owners, and severely limiting local heritage and environmental safeguards.



Extreme recommendations for neighbourhoods would allow four-storey, multi-unit buildings on any residential lot and remove a key construction approval step for all projects of up to 10 floors. The recommendations would introduce province-wide zoning standards for minimum lot sizes, maximum building setbacks, minimum heights, shadow rules, building depth, landscaping and floor space.



“We fully support making housing more affordable,” said Doug McKirgan, who chairs We Love Oakville, a coalition of the Town’s largest and most active residents’ groups.



“However, we believe that the new legislation will do nothing to make homes less expensive. It doesn’t address key factors driving runaway house prices in Ontario including developers stock-piling already-approved building sites, low interest rates, high migration rates to the GTHA and house-flipping as investment.”



“People deserve a better plan,” said McKirgan.



McKirgan said the group agrees with numerous recommendations in the government’s report, including the need for more in-fill housing, streamlined local development processes, increased provincial housing targets, and things like approving accessory apartments in existing neighbourhoods. But only if changes are planned locally and not a province-wide, one-size-fits-all which will work for no one but the government and developers.



We Love Oakville is planning to send a strong message to the government and has set up an extensive website with information and links to send letters to the Premier, Housing Minister Steve Clark and local Conservative MPs. They are also spreading their message to concerned groups and people across the province to join the campaign. You can see the website at Home (weloveoakville.org).



“It’s easy to call us Nimbys as the government is already doing,” said McKirgan. “We all have a stake in working to make housing more affordable. We don’t want homes to be out of the financial reach of new home buyers, who include our children, relatives and friends.”



“But increasing urban sprawl and dismantling stable neighbourhoods isn’t the right way to do it!”



For more information, contact Doug McKirgan at 905-466-6961 or [email protected], or George Niblock at 416-567-9816 or [email protected]

Home Housing Affordability Campaign TELL THE PROVINCE YES TO LOCALLY PLANNED GROWTH; NO TO DISMANTLING OUR NEIGHBOURHOODS AND MORE SPRAWL The Ontario government has announced that it will soon enact radical new legislation aimed at speeding up the permitting process for new housing, under the guis...

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-a-shortage-of-homes-isnt-the-main-reason-house-prices-keep-rising/

Opinion: A shortage of homes isn’t the main reason house prices keep rising The idea that Ontario hasn’t built enough homes for a growing population isn’t backed by data

The Housing Affordability Campaign 2022 is now live! ⤵️

https://weloveoakville.org

Home Housing Affordability Campaign TELL THE PROVINCE YES TO LOCALLY PLANNED GROWTH; NO TO DISMANTLING OUR NEIGHBOURHOODS AND MORE SPRAWL The Ontario government has announced that it will soon enact radical new legislation aimed at speeding up the permitting process for new housing, under the guis...