CanadiaNews – Hawa Toronto
Council approved Growing Mississauga, the City’s comprehensive action plan for new housing.
The plan includes five goals and 23 actions designed to increase the supply of housing, streamline development and building approvals and improve affordability. The plan also details where private sector and government support is necessary to meet the accelerated pace of development.
“With this new plan, the City of Mississauga is once again sending a clear message: We welcome growth and are ready to get more housing built for everyone who wants to call Mississauga home,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “Growing Mississauga demonstrates the City’s commitment to taking action on housing. It also shows our willingness to work with the provincial government to help meet their 1.5 million new homes goal over 10 years and with our industry partners who are ultimately responsible for getting the homes built. Our goal is to ensure that as we grow, Mississauga continues to be a place where families want to live, work and raise a family for generations to come.”
Growing Mississauga builds on the success of the City’s previous housing plans which have positioned Mississauga to meet the province’s 2051 growth target, helped improve housing affordability, streamlined approval processes and led to the issuance of a record number of building permits in 2022.
“Increasing housing supply and affordability has been a long-standing priority for Mississauga, particularly over the last decade as we’ve navigated the transition from our suburban roots to a thriving urban city,” said Andrew Whittemore, Commissioner of Planning and Building. “So while some cities are just getting started on this journey, we’ve been actively planning for intensive growth for many years.”
Whittemore added: “As a result of these efforts, Mississauga is well positioned to accommodate about 246,000 new residential units – more than the 120,000 provincial housing target – but doing so will require significant and accelerated infrastructure investments. It will also require the development community to commit to funding and building the housing the City approves. We cannot do this alone and our plan is contingent on support from the federal and provincial governments, as well as the development industry.”
Increasing Housing Supply
Mississauga issued more than 6,400 building permits in 2022 – a record for the City. Over the next four years, the City will take actions to continue to increase housing supply, such as:
- Reducing exclusionary zoning throughout Mississauga to allow more semis, duplexes, triplexes, garden suites and garage conversions to be built ‘as of right’ (without special zoning permissions) in low density areas
- Creating opportunities for new residential housing in employment areas and other key sites
- Implementing zoning permissions for the future redevelopment of many of the City’s mall-based sites into new mixed-use communities
- Encouraging more transit-oriented development by enacting updated zoning policies for Major Transit Station Areas and working with the province to secure the downtown loop in Mississauga’s highest growth area as well as enhanced service on the Milton GO line
Streamlining Processes
Mississauga uses a full suite of tools to get housing built more quickly and was the first city in Canada to offer an online approvals system for building permits and development applications. The following actions will continue the City’s commitment to streamlining processes and improving customer service:
- Launch permit approval team to expedite approvals
- Create building liaison role for seamless approval stream
- Upgrade online applications portal
- Pilot new approval process to satisfy Bill 109 legislative timelines
Improving Affordability
When launched in 2017, Mississauga’s Making Room for the Middle housing strategy was one of the first of its kind in Canada. Today, 90 per cent of the strategy’s actions are complete or underway but there is more work to do. Growing Mississauga includes the following actions to improve housing affordability:
- Implement inclusionary zoning policies to bring affordable housing units to new developments in Major Transit Station Areas
- Incentivize affordable rental housing by implementing development charge and property tax relief
- Work with other levels of government to ensure surplus lands disposal prioritizes affordable housing
- Work with the province to ensure rental housing is protected and expanded
Making it Happen
Increasing the pace of development in Mississauga will require considerable new funding to accelerate major infrastructure, such as transit, to support the growth. Growing Mississauga includes the following actions to make it happen:
- Participate in provincial financial audit to ensure the City is made whole on any losses related to Bill 23
- Accelerate parkland acquisition and work with Region of Peel to ensure sufficient water and wastewater servicing capacity to support additional growth
- Explore revenue generation opportunities
- Review all planning, building and development fees
As we grow Mississauga, the City is committed to working with the community and our stakeholders to plan and build responsibly. Growing Mississauga includes actions to help educate residents on housing issues and expand online planning engagement tools. It also recommends establishing a housing panel made up of key stakeholders to help implement the plan.
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