Item - 2021.PH21.4

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 (February 16, 2021) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat and in an amount not to exceed $10,899,200 to facilitate the creation of up to 971 new 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 the report (February 16, 2021) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat and in an amount not to exceed $100,000 for the purpose of conducting pre-development activities including addressing issues identified by City staff to facilitate the creation of an additional 124 affordable rental homes through a future Open Door Program application.

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 (February 16, 2021) 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 of the report (February 16, 2021) 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 execute, 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 the report (February 16, 2021) 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 the report (February 16, 2021) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat 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 Chart A in the Financial Impact section of the report (February 16, 2021) 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 (February 16, 2021) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, from the Development Charges Reserve Fund for Subsidized Housing.

10. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, and the Chief Technology Officer to work with the City of Toronto Open Data Team and Open Door Proponents, to ensure all Open Door Program housing information is posted in an appropriate open data format on the City's Open Data Portal including information on each project, including:

a. Housing site locations;

b. Original application unit-numbers;

c. Any changes to original estimated project timelines, if applicable;

d. Final unit-numbers; and

e. Current estimated project timelines.

The Executive Director, Housing Secretariat gave a presentation on Open Door Affordable Housing Program - 2020 Call for Applications Results.

This report outlines the results of the 2020 Open Door Program Call for Affordable Rental Housing Applications and recommends 15 developments, representing a total of 971 new affordable homes, for approval by City Council. Eleven of the 15 affordable housing developments are proposed by non-profit housing providers, and of these, three are by Indigenous groups.

The recommended developments follow a competitive Call for Applications under the Open Door Program which was issued on September 15, 2020 and closed on November 17, 2020. The applications were reviewed and assessed by an interdivisional committee of staff from the Housing Secretariat, City Planning, Shelter Support and Housing Administration and Corporate Finance, with input from Legal Services.

This report recommends that authority be granted to the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to enter into the necessary agreements to provide City financial support for the construction and operation of these new affordable rental homes. The homes will be affordable for a minimum period of 40 years, and in many cases, in perpetuity.

This report also outlines updates to the Open Door Program which will be implemented in 2021 to increase the number of affordable rental approvals; enhance support to the non-profit housing development sector; and better align the City's Open Door Program with current Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC) programs under the National Housing Strategy.