CEA in the News

Windsor's mayor says he's not sure where the city would fit 13,000 more homes

CBC News/ November 2, 2022

Windsor-Essex's conservation authority, meanwhile, says it's worried about local green space

Windsor's mayor says the province's target of building 13,000 homes in the city in the next decade is a little ambitious, but that the target sets an expectation for Ontario municipalities to address the growing housing crisis.

Drew Dilkens says the city is "closely examining the ramifications" of Ontario's proposed More Homes, Built Faster Act — which already passed its second reading.

Premier Doug Ford announced last week the sweeping new plan to get housing built across Ontario. He's set targets for 29 fast-growing municipalities to ensure the province achieves its overall goal of building 1.5 million new homes in a decade. Windsor is on that list, expected to build 13,000 new homes by 2031.

"In 10 years I would say that that would be certainly a stretch goal for us, only because it's also a function of not just getting the talent and the building materials and getting all of the land ready, but it's also a function of where are we going to build all these homes as a city," Dilkens told reporters Tuesday.

"And so, if you look at a map of the City of Windsor, certainly we can build south of the airport — once all of the approvals have been given — and then you're talking really about building up, you know you're talking about density."

The city's mayor says he isn't aware of any discussion around boundary changes to accommodate new builds as of yet but says a number of upcoming projects that so far the city has not received building permit applications for would "talk about density."

Dilkens — who gave input in the planning process of the new bill as chair of the Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team — says the city wants to be a partner in the housing crisis solution.

The president of the Windsor Essex Home Builders Association says the city has space, but it's not yet useable for new builds.

"The problem is we don't have serviceable land," said Vince Lapico. "So we don't have land that has sewers and hydro and, you know, natural gas, those things are all imperative. You can't put a new subdivision in, you know, on a piece of land if you don't have any place for sewage waste to go."

Lapico says municipalities talk more about bike lanes, dog parks and "pretty" community adds, but that sewage and services are needed to build.

He also thinks 13,000 homes in 10 years is a tall order, following a recent report stating the region needs 30,000 in the next decade.

"Windsor-Essex County's best year was like 1,680 homes so and that was in the best of times. So to double our capacity in the current situation is pretty difficult," he said.

Conservation authorities concerned of stripped powers

The tabled bill is a controversial one, with some cities scrambling to decipher the legislation, and conservation authorities worried they'll be cut out of the planning process with precious wetlands and green spaces at risk of being developed.

Some of the changes include reducing developer charges, allowing more units on one residential lot and pursuing rent-to-own programs. It also includes standardizing how Ontario's 36 different conservation districts operate.

The Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) chief administrative officer, Tim Byrne, says he understands the intents of the proposed legislation but says it could lead to unnecessary conflict.

"The most concerning issues is cutting back on the opportunity of a conservation authorities to provide input in the planning process," Byrne told CBC News.

"If you're simply regulating within a defined regulated area, and you're not advising ahead of time through the planning process, through the Planning Act of future issues that you as a proponent or you as a developer ... to just hit you at the tail end of a planning process when you're trying to get a permit that's just — you fail. We both fail.

It sets up an immediate confrontation because you haven't been informed of what might be ahead of you in the hazard lands, in the flood-prone area, in wetlands, in erodible soils."The government has said the bill will mean conservation authorities will no longer need to consider factors like pollution or land conservation when approving building permits.

That really narrows the focus of what the authorities can do in the permit process, says Derek Coronado, executive director of the Citizens Environment Alliance of Southwestern Ontario.

"It looks like the government is giving itself a veto over the permitting process as well, that the conservation authorities have," said Coronado. "So not only narrowing the focus but giving themselves a veto over it, so really curtailing any authority of conservation authorities in the permitting process."

Coronado says "this isn't the first time" the Ford government has "went after" conservation authorities, and is worried for the status of wetlands across the province.

"Provincially significant wetlands, as the name suggests, are at the top of the list in terms of their environmental significance and they're really off limits for development," he said. "So changing the scientific evaluation for that will mean that they can open up those wetlands for development and ... we hardly have any wetlands left."

Byrne says the authorities work to educate and inform developers, and municipalities during the planning stages of building, working to protect watersheds and wetlands.

"It is imperative that people in developments are protected from the potential impact of hazards," said Byrne.

"We've just gone through all-time high lake levels and all-time critical river flooding [in Windsor-Essex]. People still want to be around those areas, next to those areas, to view water but we need ro make sure they're safe."

With files from Dale Molnar, Shawn Jeffords, Kaitie Fraser, Katerina Georgieva

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