Item - 2019.PH8.3

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:  

1.  City Council authorize the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, to provide capital funding from the Development Charges Reserve Fund for Subsidized Housing (XR2116), in the amounts and for the developments described in Chart A in the Financial Impact section of the report (September 4, 2019) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat and in an amount not to exceed $12,327,344 to facilitate creation of the 651 affordable rental homes through the Open Door Program.

 
2.  City Council authorize the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to provide capital funding from the Development Charges Reserve Fund for Subsidized Housing (XR2116), in the amounts and for the developments described in Chart C in the Financial Impact section of report (September 4, 2019) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat and in an amount not to exceed $250,000 for the purpose of conducting pre-development activities including addressing issues identified by City staff to facilitate the creation of 538 affordable rental homes through the 2020 Open Door Program.

 
3.  City Council authorize the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, to exempt the developments described in Chart A in the Financial Impact section of the report (September 4, 2019) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat from the payment of development charges, building, planning and parkland dedication fees.

 
4.  City Council authorize an exemption from taxation for municipal and school purposes for the developments and for the periods of time described in Chart B in the Financial Impact section and Appendix 1 of report (September 4, 2019) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat.

 
5.  City Council authorize City staff to cancel or refund any taxes paid after the effective date of the municipal housing facility agreement (the City's Contribution Agreement).

 
6.  City Council authorize the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, to negotiate and enter into, on behalf of the City, a municipal housing facility agreement (the City's Contribution Agreement) with the developers of the developments described in Chart A in the Financial Impact section of report (September 4, 2019) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, or related corporations, to secure the financial assistance and to set out the terms of the development and operation of the new affordable rental housing, on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, in a form approved by the City Solicitor.
 

7.  City Council authorize the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, to negotiate and enter into, on behalf of the City, a pre-development agreement with the developers of the proposals described in Chart C in the Financial Impact section of report (September 4, 2019) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, or related corporations, to secure the financial assistance, on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, in a form approved by the City Solicitor.
 

8.  City Council authorize severally each of the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat and the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to execute, on behalf of the City, any security or financing documents or any other documents required to facilitate the funding process, including any documents required by the developers of the developments described in Charts A and B in the Financial Impact section and Appendix 1 of the report (September 4, 2019) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, or their related corporations to complete pre-development activities, construction and secure conventional financing, where required, including any postponement, confirmation of status, discharge or consent documents where and when required during the term of the municipal housing facility agreement, as required by normal business practices, and provided that such documents do not give rise to financial obligations on the part of the City that have not been previously approved by Council.

 
9.  City Council authorize the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, in consultation with the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, to make any necessary future budget adjustments to accommodate the funds approved in the report (September 4, 2019) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, from the Development Charges Reserve Fund for Subsidized Housing.

10.  City Council direct the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to include a proposal in the November 2019 Housing Opportunities Toronto report which guarantees that subsidies to not for profit providers are at least equal to the subsidies for profit providers.

11.  City Council request the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to make information available through the City’s Open Data portal on the current status of all projects approved through the Open Door Program, including the number of units approved, development approval stage, project proponent, any changes to project proposals, and other relevant information.

This report outlines the results of the 2019 Open Door Program Call for Affordable Rental Housing Applications and recommends eight non-profit and private sector development proposals, representing a total of 651 affordable homes, for approval by City Council. Three of the eight recommended proposals are from non-profit housing organizations representing 215 homes across the City.

The recommended development proposals follow a competitive Call for Applications which was issued on February 25, 2019 and closed on May 3, 2019. The applications were reviewed by an interdivisional committee of staff from the Housing Secretariat, City Planning, City Legal, Shelter Support and Housing Administration, and Corporate Finance.

In addition to the eight applications being recommended for Council approval, this report recommends pre-development funding for five non-profit groups to assist them in revising their plans should they wish to apply in future Call for Applications. These five proposals represent another potential 538 non-profit homes in the affordable housing development pipeline.

This report recommends that authority be granted to the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to enter into the necessary agreements to fund and secure the construction and operation of these homes as affordable housing for a minimum period of 30 years, and in some cases in perpetuity.