Item - 2023.PH3.8

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council affirm its commitment to achieving the City of Toronto's 2031 Housing Target.

2. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to draft a Housing Pledge Letter based on the report (April 13, 2023) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

3. City Council authorize the Deputy Mayor to sign Toronto's Housing Pledge Letter and request the City Clerk forward the signed Housing Pledge Letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, along with this report and the Housing Action Plan 2023-2026 Work Plan attached to EX3.1 - Housing Action Plan 2022-2026- Priorities and Work Plan.

4. City Council request the Province to fulfill its commitment to making the City financially whole to offset the fiscal impacts of Bill 23.

5. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to report back to Council no later than October 11, 2023 on further steps to support the 101,000 rental homes currently proposed and not yet built, and to determine the proportion of the Housing Target that needs to be composed of affordable rental and ownership homes to meet the demand for affordable housing options.

As part of an initiative timed with Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 ('Bill 23'), on October 25, 2022, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing requested that the City of Toronto commit to a Housing Pledge to facilitate the construction of 285,000 new homes by 2031 ('Housing Target'). Toronto's Housing Target is a component of the 1.5 million new homes province-wide described in ERO 019-6171, 2031 Municipal Housing Targets.

This report seeks Council's endorsement of Toronto's Municipal Housing Pledge and describes the strategies and actions the City will take to achieve its Housing Target through the Housing Action Plan 2022-2026 Work Plan and HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan ('HousingTO Plan') among other initiatives. The Housing Pledge and Housing Target is non-statutory and does not replace the population and employment forecasts in A Place to Grow, Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. While municipalities are not requested to update their growth management strategies and/or their Official Plans to reflect the Housing Target, the City of Toronto strives to meet or exceed this objective.

Toronto is a growing city experiencing a housing and homelessness crisis. Not only does Toronto need many more homes to be affordable for those earning a median income, it must also improve access to subsidized supportive and affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness. In addition to existing unmet demand, new housing pressures are being created through population growth and an increasing number of newcomers, in line with new federal immigration targets.

The Housing Target of 285,000 homes by 2031 represents an ambitious goal that is designed to serve as a call to action for both the City, other orders of government, and its stakeholders. Achieving this figure will require Toronto's rate of annual home completions to effectively double over recent trends.

This report describes the actions and strategies being implemented to accelerate the delivery of market and affordable housing, including:

-    Official Plan, Zoning and Guideline Amendments

-    Intensification of Major Growth Areas

-    Advancing Housing System Policy and Program Initiatives

-    Training and Trades Strategy Addressing Construction Market Capacity

-    Leveraging Public Land to Increase the Supply of Housing

-    Preserving the Existing Rental Housing Stock

-    Public Accountability and Reporting on Progress

The City will continue to deliver the Open Door program, Housing Now, and Modular Housing Initiative to enable the development of new affordable and supportive rental and ownership housing. In addition, the City is implementing development review process efficiencies and organizational changes to reduce barriers to development and to speed up approvals to enable housing starts.

By affirming the Housing Pledge and implementing the initiatives described in this report, the City of Toronto will take significant steps toward transforming the delivery of new homes. While the City can undertake a leadership role within our jurisdiction, we will require additional support from other orders of government and the active participation of the development and community sectors. The City has limited control over the output of the housing production process and must rely on the market to build a greater volume and diversity of housing.

Creating new homes to meet the needs of Toronto's current and future households depends on the City's ability to provide the critical infrastructure and services to support them. Given the significant fiscal impacts and constraints imposed by Bill 23, the Province has a responsibility to provide the required financial support to deliver necessary community infrastructure. Additionally, access to Canada's Infrastructure Bank funding to support infrastructure for residential development projects would help align shared outcomes.

The City also needs the federal and/or provincial governments to allow for rental housing zoning, waive federal and provincial charges on development (such as HST/GST), provide surplus government land for building purpose-built rental including affordable and supportive housing, and direct taxes collected through Non-Resident Speculation Tax and Underused Housing Tax to affordable housing among other actions within their respective jurisdictions.

Corporate Finance and the Housing Secretariat were consulted in the preparation of the report.