Guelph Growth Management and Affordable Housing Monitoring Report 2024 be received.

57:45And that is,

57:48wealth, growth, management

57:50and affordable housing monitoring report.

57:52We have a presentation from one of our planners here,

57:55Jason, Jason's coming on down.

57:58And we're moving right along.

58:04So thank you for coming Jason

58:06and for the presentation you're about to do.

58:10Take your time, get a drink

58:11and then we'll turn it over to you for the presentation.

58:21Good evening, Mayor Guthrie and members of council.

58:23Tonight I'll be taking you through a presentation

58:26on some of the from the wealth, growth management

58:30and affordable housing monitoring report for the year 2024.

58:34For the first time in a decade,

58:36we've reintroduced those supports as a staff report

58:37rather than an information report

58:40at the request of the local development

58:41and home builder community last year

58:44to continue to foster and enhance collaboration with them

58:48and also to provide opportunity for the public

58:50and engagement through delegations or written submissions,

58:53especially as we navigate the challenges

58:54of a slowing economy and its impact on housing creation,

58:57housing supply and housing affordability.

59:03This report provides members of council, city staff

59:05and the public with information on wealth achievement

59:07of official plan growth policies and targets

59:10achievement of the policies of the provincial planning

59:13statement, progress towards Guelph's provincial housing pledge

59:16of creating 18,000 new homes by 2031

59:19and achievement of the affordable housing targets in 2024.

59:23This report also includes detailed information

59:25on last year's development activity

59:27and the current housing supply and Guelph.

59:30And typically this report would also establish

59:32the affordable housing benchmarks for the year

59:34or these benchmarks are set using the affordable housing

59:37price thresholds released by the province

59:40through its annual affordable housing bulletin.

59:43And originally this bulletin was expected to be released

59:45on June 1st, but the province has since indicated

59:49that it will be released sometime this month.

59:52And once that's available, a separate information report

59:54will be provided to council to set Guelph's affordable housing

59:58benchmarks for this year.

1:00:04To begin, I'd like to start by explaining

1:00:05the city's growth plan framework,

1:00:07illustrated in schedule 1A of the official plan.

1:00:11The city's official plan sets the policies and targets

1:00:13for growth and development for specific areas of the city

1:00:16that are identified on this schedule.

1:00:18This includes the built up area, intensification targets

1:00:21and density targets for the designated Greenfield area,

1:00:25downtown also referred to as a major transit station area

1:00:28and strategic growth areas.

1:00:30And on this map, you can see the built up area

1:00:32shown in purple.

1:00:34It is planned to achieve a minimum intensification rate

1:00:36of 46% of all new residential growth annually.

1:00:40The Greenfield area shown in beige

1:00:42is planned to achieve a combined 68 persons and jobs per hectare.

1:00:46The downtown towards the center of the schedule

1:00:49is being planned to achieve a minimum density of 150 persons

1:00:52and jobs per hectare by 2031, 175 by 2041 and 200 by 2051.

1:00:59The 12 strategic growth areas identified in red on the schedule

1:01:03have individual density targets assigned to them

1:01:06that are provided in the cover report.

1:01:11At the end of 2024, Guelph had an estimated population

1:01:14of 149,600 people and 87,000 jobs.

1:01:19Now, this population figure is referred to as a census

1:01:22equivalent population, which does not include the net census

1:01:25under coverage, which are those people that were missed

1:01:28being counted in the census.

1:01:30When factoring in the net census under coverage,

1:01:32Guelph's estimated population is 154,800.

1:01:37And Guelph's official plan is planning

1:01:38to achieve a population of 208,000 people, which

1:01:41does include the net census under coverage,

1:01:44and 116,000 jobs by 2051.

1:01:49To achieve our growth forecast by 2051,

1:01:51we need to continue to plan for an additional 51,000 people

1:01:55and nearly 29,000 jobs.

1:02:00And this slide you see here depicts

1:02:02the number of new units created each year by type

1:02:04over the past 20 years.

1:02:06In 2024, building permits, building permit activity

1:02:10resulted in the creation of 629 new residential units,

1:02:14the lowest number in the last 20 years,

1:02:16below the 20-year average of 978 units per year.

1:02:22The majority of these units were additional residential units

1:02:24or ADUs, which accounted for 325 units or 52% of that total.

1:02:31Townhouses make up the next largest share with 253 units

1:02:35or 40%.

1:02:37The remaining units included 29 single detached homes,

1:02:4012 semi-detached homes, and 10 new apartments.

1:02:44But considering that fewer units were created last year

1:02:47than expected isn't a story that is unique to Guelph.

1:02:50Reflects a broader trend seen across municipalities

1:02:53across this country, and especially in Ontario.

1:02:57Housing starts across the province

1:02:58were down by an average of 16% last year,

1:03:01a trend that's expected to continue through this year

1:03:04and over the coming years.

1:03:07Even the Ontario budget for 2025 through 2027

1:03:11projects a 20% decrease in the number of housing

1:03:13starts over the next several years.

1:03:17And these 2024 housing construction numbers

1:03:19are reflective of the impacts of multiple economic factors

1:03:22that reach their peak in 2023 and are expected to continue

1:03:26to have effects over the next several years.

1:03:28And some of these factors include rising construction costs

1:03:31resulting from inflation, worldwide supply chain issues

1:03:34that continue following COVID,

1:03:38a shortage of skilled construction labor

1:03:40which has the effect of increasing labor costs

1:03:42in home building and high interest rates.

1:03:45And these interest rates increase borrowing costs

1:03:48for not only homeowners, but have also made financing projects

1:03:51significantly more expensive for developers and builders.

1:03:54Now these interest rates have started to decline

1:03:58from their peak last year, but it will take time

1:04:00for the housing market to adjust.

1:04:02The Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation

1:04:04anticipates that housing construction in central Canada

1:04:07will continue to decline this year,

1:04:09particularly due to trade conflict between Canada and the USA

1:04:13which began earlier this year,

1:04:15potentially further increasing construction costs

1:04:17and placing additional uncertainty on the housing market.

1:04:21Employment conditions have also weakened

1:04:23across most regions of Canada over the past year

1:04:27and a cap on international student admissions

1:04:29to post-secondary institutions

1:04:31introduced last year are also both negatively impacting

1:04:34the housing market.

1:04:38Now moving on to some of our growth targets,

1:04:41last year we did exceed our intensification target

1:04:43of 46%, the 65% of all new residential growth

1:04:47occurring within the built up area.

1:04:49We're also meeting our Greenfield Area Density Target

1:04:52of 68 residents and jobs per hectare,

1:04:54achieving a density of 73 residents and jobs per hectare

1:04:56by the end of 2024.

1:04:59And over the past few years,

1:05:00we've seen both residential and job growth

1:05:03within several of our strategic growth areas

1:05:06and we are on track to achieve those density targets.

1:05:09And each of the city's 12 strategic growth areas

1:05:11have unique growth targets

1:05:12and more information on those can be found in section 4.4

1:05:15on page 21 of attachment one to the report.

1:05:20And last year, wealth saw 1,147 housing starts,

1:05:26about 76% of our provincial target of 1,500 starts.

1:05:31I should note that municipalities who achieve 80%

1:05:34of their target qualify for funding

1:05:36through the Ontario Building Faster Fund.

1:05:39And had we reached 1,200 housing starts,

1:05:40we would have been eligible for some funding.

1:05:44Now it's important to note that municipalities

1:05:46have very limited control over housing starts.

1:05:49These are largely driven by market conditions

1:05:51and developer timelines.

1:05:56Now consider our growth targets.

1:05:58I did wanna highlight our downtown density target.

1:06:00By the end of 2024, downtown was an estimated 95 residents

1:06:06and jobs per hectare, a decrease from 105 in 2023.

1:06:12This decline is due to the cooperators relocating

1:06:14approximately 1,200 employees to the Hanley Creek Business

1:06:17Park in the fall of 2024.

1:06:20However, some of those jobs are expected to return

1:06:22when Conestaway College opens a satellite campus

1:06:24in the same building.

1:06:25And that opening is now anticipated for some time in 2028,

1:06:30following a recently announced delay.

1:06:33Now, few measures that we are taking to help achieve

1:06:35our density targets downtown as shown in this slide

1:06:38include the Council recent adoption

1:06:41of the downtown height study, which increases

1:06:43the maximum permate of heights of buildings downtown.

1:06:46And although this study has been appealed

1:06:48to the Ontario Lantribunal, once it does come into effect,

1:06:51it will create additional development opportunities

1:06:53within our downtown.

1:06:55A community planning permit system study is also underway

1:06:58for downtown that's expected to significantly reduce

1:07:01development approval timelines for developments

1:07:03within the downtown.

1:07:05And the study is anticipated to be presented to Council

1:07:07for adoption in early 2026.

1:07:11We're also moving forward some infrastructure upgrades

1:07:14that are either planned or underway for both Wellington

1:07:16Street and Wyndham Streets.

1:07:18They will also increase servicing capacity downtown,

1:07:21removing barriers to development that would otherwise

1:07:24be limited or constrained by that servicing capacity.

1:07:27And these projects are expected to be completed

1:07:29by the end of 2027.

1:07:34And we are meeting the provincial planning statements

1:07:36housing supply policies that require a minimum

1:07:39of three years of housing on lands that are serviced and zoned,

1:07:42which we termed Guelph's short-term housing supply.

1:07:45We currently have 6.4 years of housing on these lands.

1:07:49And on lands that are designated for residential development,

1:07:52we have 17.1 years of supply for a combined total

1:07:55of 23.5 years, where a minimum of 15 years

1:07:58is required under provincial policy.

1:08:02Now, the majority of the city's short-term housing supply

1:08:04are about 72% are lands that are zoned outside of plans

1:08:07of subdivision, with about 8% within draft plans

1:08:11and 20% within registered plans.

1:08:14The majority of the designated and available supply

1:08:16of housing is located within our approved secondary plans,

1:08:20such as the downtown, the Guelph and Innovation District,

1:08:23and the recently approved Claremultby secondary plan.

1:08:27The housing supply on these lands that

1:08:29are designated for residential will eventually

1:08:30become part of the city's short-term housing supply

1:08:33as development applications are approved.

1:08:37Now, I would also like to note that an additional 6,200 units

1:08:40have been discussed at our Development Review Committee,

1:08:43either in pre-consultation or in initial meetings with staff.

1:08:47Once these units do form part of an approved

1:08:49development application, they will also form part

1:08:51of Guelph's short-term housing supply.

1:08:54And further to this, Guelph has 352 housing units

1:08:57within our short-term housing supply

1:08:59that are either approved through site plan

1:09:02or are exempt from site plan control.

1:09:04And these 352 units are ready for building permit applications,

1:09:08meaning no further approvals or conditions are required.

1:09:12And on average, these units have been ready for permits

1:09:14for approximately five years, and around 90% of them

1:09:18are located within plans of subdivision.

1:09:22Now, it should also be noted that our short-term housing

1:09:24supply figure is intentionally conservative.

1:09:28We've worked extensively with the local home builders

1:09:31to arrive at a agreed-upon figure and methodology.

1:09:34And this supply only includes unbuilt residential units

1:09:37on sites approved through consent applications,

1:09:39as well as unbuilt units on lands

1:09:41that have been rezoned with council approval.

1:09:44Does not account for the full development potential

1:09:47permitted under current zoning,

1:09:49nor does it include units on mixed-use sites

1:09:51that allow for residential uses.

1:09:53The short-term housing supply also excludes

1:09:55additional residential units or ADUs on sites

1:09:58that permit three units as of right

1:10:00or four units were applicable.

1:10:03These ADUs have played a significant role

1:10:05in our recent residential construction,

1:10:07accounting for over 50% of our new units in 2024,

1:10:11and approximately 30% so far this year.

1:10:16We also note that although building permits have slowed,

1:10:18development approvals are still significant.

1:10:21In 2024, we reviewed 4,849 units

1:10:25through zoning, official plan, consents,

1:10:27and condo applications.

1:10:30In various stages of the process,

1:10:31from pre-consultation to formal applications.

1:10:34And so far at the midway point in 2025,

1:10:36we've reviewed 3,456.

1:10:43However, some of the lands that contribute

1:10:44to golf short-term housing supply

1:10:45do face additional constraints,

1:10:47separate both the city and the province,

1:10:49that must be addressed before building permits

1:10:51can be applied for.

1:10:53For example, some of these sites are considered brownfields

1:10:55that require soil remediation

1:10:57before development can proceed.

1:10:59And in cases of a change of land use,

1:11:01such as from commercial to residential,

1:11:03a record of condition would be required

1:11:05to be submitted to the province for approval,

1:11:07as required under provincial regulation,

1:11:10which can delay development of the site.

1:11:13Some sites are also subject to zoning holding provisions,

1:11:17which includes specific conditions

1:11:18that must be addressed before development can proceed.

1:11:21And these conditions are typically the responsibility

1:11:23of developers or builders,

1:11:25who often control the pace

1:11:26at which they are addressed or satisfied.

1:11:29But considering the sites with these additional constraints,

1:11:32there are 2,170 units in golf short-term housing supply

1:11:35that still require conditions to be met

1:11:37before construction can begin,

1:11:39representing 36% of the total supply.

1:11:44The local builder community has also identified

1:11:46that there are approximately 700 additional units

1:11:48that might be subject to additional constraints

1:11:51that are not set by the city or the province,

1:11:54such as land consolidation issues, utility easements,

1:11:58issues in acquiring project financing,

1:12:00and matters of private litigation,

1:12:02all of which would require,

1:12:03or all of which would contribute to delays

1:12:05in construction of the site.

1:12:11Now, here's just a map that highlights the sites

1:12:12that contribute to our housing supply,

1:12:15and shown in red are those sites

1:12:16that are part of golf short-term housing supply.

1:12:19The sites shown in yellow are those sites

1:12:21that are designated for residential development,

1:12:24and would require a zoning amendment

1:12:26before they can become part of our short-term housing supply.

1:12:29And this map can also be found on page 27 of attachment one.

1:12:34And it should also be noted that lands

1:12:36within our secondary plans

1:12:39form the majority of the designated

1:12:41and available housing supply.

1:12:46Now, turning our attention to highlights

1:12:48around golf's housing stock,

1:12:49the city continues to be predominantly low-density housing

1:12:52in the form of single-detached and semi-detached units.

1:12:56Shift in the demand for different forms of housing,

1:12:58resulting from decreasing housing affordability,

1:13:01combined with policies that promote

1:13:02transit-supportive densities,

1:13:04resulting in a shift towards approval

1:13:07and construction of more townhouses and apartments.

1:13:10The increase in approvals and construction

1:13:12of medium and high-density forms of housing

1:13:14will result in a shift to the city's housing stock,

1:13:16which is planned to accommodate a greater range

1:13:18of housing choice to meet the needs

1:13:19of current and future residents.

1:13:22By 2051, it's anticipated that 38%

1:13:25of the city's total housing stock

1:13:26will be low-density forms of housing,

1:13:2923% townhouses, and 39% in the form of apartments.

1:13:36Now, moving on from our growth targets,

1:13:38the next slides will focus on achievement

1:13:40of our affordable housing targets for 2024.

1:13:44These targets are measured based on the affordable housing

1:13:46targets from the official plan in 2024,

1:13:49which were amended by the affordable housing strategy

1:13:51in 2017.

1:13:53These new affordable housing targets

1:13:56from the housing affordability strategy

1:13:58did not come into effect until January of this year,

1:14:01and achievement of those targets

1:14:03will be measured in future monitoring reports.

1:14:06And it's expected that a report on the progress

1:14:09towards key measures, goals, and actions approved

1:14:11through the housing affordability strategy

1:14:13will be presented in a comprehensive report

1:14:15to Gulf City Council scheduled for early 2026.

1:14:21So in 2024, 27 residential units were sold

1:14:24below the affordable ownership threshold,

1:14:26$398,800, and this represents 4%

1:14:30of all new units created next year,

1:14:32which is below our target of 25%.

1:14:36And all of these affordable units were apartments sold

1:14:39in the Alice Block Redevelopment Project

1:14:40and 120 here on street.

1:14:44The last year that we did achieve our home ownership target

1:14:47for affordability was in 2021,

1:14:49when that benchmark was set at $420,000.

1:14:54And last year we issued permits

1:14:56for 325 additional residential units,

1:14:59which form part of the city's secondary rental market.

1:15:02Of those units, approximately 160 are considered affordable,

1:15:06which makes 25% of all the new units created

1:15:10in 2024 being considered affordable,

1:15:12which does exceed our secondary rental market

1:15:15affordability housing target of 4%.

1:15:19And the primary rental target of 1%

1:15:21is measured as an average every five years

1:15:24and will be reported on in next year's report.

1:15:28It's anticipated that we will have achieved this target

1:15:30with the creation of over 102 affordable primary rental units

1:15:34over the last five years.

1:15:37The last time we reported on this

1:15:38was in the 2020 monitoring report,

1:15:40when we determined that there was no new units,

1:15:42no new primary rental units being rented

1:15:44below the affordable benchmarks.

1:15:50And vacancy rates also influence housing affordability.

1:15:53Last year, the average vacancy rate

1:15:55among primary rental units was 1.9%,

1:15:58which represents a small increase

1:16:00from 1.3% the year before.

1:16:02And CMHC considers a balanced and healthy supply

1:16:05of vacant rentals to be 3%.

1:16:07And the city of Gullfuss consistently had a vacancy rate

1:16:09below 3% since 2011.

1:16:12And lower vacancy rates generally lead

1:16:14to higher competition for rental units

1:16:16driving up rental prices.

1:16:18And we're considering the modest increase

1:16:19to the vacancy rates last year.

1:16:21CMHC has identified several factors

1:16:22that have contributed to that increase,

1:16:24which has seen in most municipalities across the country.

1:16:28One factor contributing to that increase was

1:16:32the labor market where employment conditions weakened

1:16:34in most regions, which particularly affected young renters

1:16:37make it harder for them to form

1:16:38and establish new households.

1:16:41Another factor is the cap on international student admissions,

1:16:44which led to fewer foreign students

1:16:46being accepted over this year.

1:16:50Now, despite these factors increasing vacancy rates,

1:16:52the local demand for rental units

1:16:54continues to exceed the supply,

1:16:56keeping vacancy rates below the balanced

1:16:58and healthy level of 3% in Gullf.

1:17:03Now, this concludes the presentation

1:17:04on the highlights of the monitoring reports.

1:17:07And I thank you for your time.

1:17:09Thanks a lot, Jason.

1:17:11Data, data, data.

1:17:14I know you love it.

1:17:15So thank you very much for presenting it to us.

1:17:18It gives us kind of a state of affairs

1:17:21and also kind of provides us an opportunity

1:17:24to answer questions for all of the people

1:17:27that might be asking us questions about what's going on.

1:17:29So we really appreciate this.

1:17:31Councillor, oh, would you be at least

1:17:33willing to move the receipt?

1:17:35Yeah, I know I'm gonna go to you first for that.

1:17:36Yeah, and then with some of you willing to say,

1:17:39Richardson will second the receipt.

1:17:41Thanks a lot.

1:17:42I'll go over to you, Councillor Alton,

1:17:43anybody else that has any questions?

1:17:45And if there's any comments,

1:17:46just kind of wrap it all up into one.

1:17:47Okay, go ahead.

1:17:49Thank you very much, Mayor Guthrie.

1:17:50I'm happy to move the report,

1:17:52but I do it with some sense of skepticism

1:17:57about what can actually be accomplished between now

1:18:02and say 2051.

1:18:04And the first question I'm just gonna ask

1:18:06is a fairly simple one,

1:18:07because I think it matters to people in Guelph,

1:18:10and that is what is the affordability matrix in Guelph

1:18:14for one, two, three, and four bedroom units?

1:18:17Because I like to compare it to actually

1:18:19what people are earning in Guelph,

1:18:21and therefore what they can afford.

1:18:30Through you, Mr. Mayor, to the Councillor,

1:18:33when looking at the affordability

1:18:35of rental units in Guelph,

1:18:39the province actually adopts a market rate,

1:18:42which is lower than the income-based rate.

1:18:44So what that means is that

1:18:48based on incomes,

1:18:50people could technically afford more

1:18:52than the average rental rates in Guelph,

1:18:55but it's always a lower value

1:18:57between the market and the income-based rate.

1:19:00Yeah, and thank you,

1:19:02because I think that what I've been noticing

1:19:04is more and more people are struggling to afford,

1:19:07despite the fact that we pronounce positively

1:19:12that we are attempting to create more affordable units

1:19:16within our housing matrix,

1:19:18and regrettably I'm a bit cynical about

1:19:22whether we can do that,

1:19:23and part of it is really confirmed within your report.

1:19:27So you'd mentioned that the housing starts

1:19:30are down 16% across the province,

1:19:33and I'm fairly cynical about whether we can get those up,

1:19:36because with trades and financing

1:19:40being fairly constrained right now,

1:19:42and you made reference to the challenges

1:19:44with our southern neighbor,

1:19:47we're currently at 154,000.

1:19:51I know the demand is there,

1:19:53but it strikes me that we're going to have to accelerate

1:19:56our building program in Guelph significantly,

1:19:58and I would say probably even quadruple it,

1:20:01and I just, I'd look for some feedback on that.

1:20:06Through you, Mr. Mayor, that is correct.

1:20:09We will have to significantly ramp up

1:20:11our housing instruction in the coming years

1:20:15to achieve our targets by 2051.

1:20:20However, over the next couple of years,

1:20:23we will have some challenges in achieving those targets.

1:20:28And thank you for being candid about that.

1:20:30I appreciate that.

1:20:32So at 154,000 right now,

1:20:34if we're looking to actually reach our short term

1:20:39and our long term goals,

1:20:41what struck me is a reference to a Canadian author.

1:20:45If we don't build them, will people still come?

1:20:48And my question is, are we looking at perhaps limiting

1:20:54the population growth of Guelph

1:20:57because of factors like trades and finances

1:21:00and challenges with this, that and the other?

1:21:02And is it quite possible that we won't reach

1:21:05these population goals that have been set upon us

1:21:08by the province?

1:21:14Through the mayor to Councillor Allt.

1:21:17So just to be clear for everyone,

1:21:19what we control is the policies

1:21:20and the incentives and the permissions.

1:21:22So we don't build, we are getting housing ready.

1:21:25So this past year with the applications that have come

1:21:29forward, the one that came through tonight,

1:21:32a 30% increase in density, it is extra units

1:21:36that are being proposed through that.

1:21:38With the downtown height, it's extra units.

1:21:40So what we can do is, as the staff,

1:21:43allow those permissions, allow those mixed use sites

1:21:47that were talked about today to have those permissions.

1:21:50And we did that in 2023 with the comprehensive zoning

1:21:52bylaw to add those increased heights and densities

1:21:55in those mixed use sites.

1:21:57So that's what we can do to be housing ready.

1:22:00When the market is ready and supportive of development,

1:22:04we're going to have those permissions in place,

1:22:06as Mr. Danum alluded to, we are exceeding

1:22:09the provincial mandates for both our short-term supply

1:22:12and our long-term supply.

1:22:13And we're continuing to look at ways

1:22:15to even increase that further.

1:22:18Recently, we did the four units as of right.

1:22:20So as staff, we're getting ready.

1:22:24So when the market does rebound, that can happen.

1:22:28And there's a lot of factors.

1:22:30There's obviously the trade and tariffs,

1:22:31but there's also that GST issue hanging out there.

1:22:34Is it going to be exempt for first-time home builders

1:22:37or not?

1:22:37And when is it coming to effect?

1:22:39It's out there and it is delaying pre-sales

1:22:43and that first-time home builder or potentially other people.

1:22:48So the market's in flux, but we can bring the council

1:22:53for approvals or for information what we're doing

1:22:56and we're continuing to look at a lot of items

1:22:59to see how we can help when the market rebounds,

1:23:01but you're absolutely correct.

1:23:02The market is not there yet.

1:23:04And thank you very much.

1:23:05As I said, the candidness of what you're saying

1:23:07is really appreciated.

1:23:09At a very important point here, and I

1:23:11don't know whether we're ready to answer this one right now,

1:23:14at the present time, I think we have development approvals

1:23:17for over 6,000 units within the city.

1:23:21Would it be beneficial for us to adopt a use it or lose it

1:23:25policy when it comes to these approvals?

1:23:33Through the mayor to the council.

1:23:34So those policies are in effect already by the province

1:23:39as a result of bill 185.

1:23:41So subdivisions are three years or it can be not extended.

1:23:45Council, we bring a report to council

1:23:48to see if we're going to extend them or not.

1:23:50And it's similar for site plan approvals.

1:23:51There is a time limit now by the province

1:23:54because they're also trying to push and encourage

1:23:56individuals to build more.

1:23:58So I think we'll take a look at every individual application

1:24:03and what the merits are and we'll bring them forward

1:24:06to council as we need to.

1:24:08Again, thank you for refreshing my memory

1:24:09and also thank you for what I consider

1:24:11is a very good report.

1:24:13I appreciate it.

1:24:15Thanks, councillor.

1:24:18And thank you again to staff.

1:24:19Is there anything further before I call the vote?

1:24:22All right, then you're good.

1:24:24We're gonna stick around for like four more minutes

1:24:26because I get the stage and it shouldn't be a surprise.

1:24:29I might vent a little bit.

1:24:31So here we go.

1:24:38Talking to the development community quite often,

1:24:42just want everyone to know,

1:24:43it's a real problem.

1:24:47Like the home building industry is in a big problem.

1:24:51I know of a developer that the last four homes

1:24:56that they sold, they sold at a loss

1:24:59just so that they could cover their own staff expenses

1:25:03to keep some staff on, just to have cash flow.

1:25:08I know another developer that re-marketed their site

1:25:16and did a pre-sale event, zero, zero pre-sales.

1:25:27I'm into stats as well.

1:25:31For the first six months of a decline

1:25:36in pre-construction home sales,

1:25:40the greater Golden Horseshoe has seen an 82.9% drop

1:25:46in the first six months.

1:25:48In Kitchener area, which we could kind of capture us

1:25:51a little bit, 84.4% less.

1:25:55Like it's being decimated.

1:25:59And I think what's really important,

1:26:02and I've heard it a couple of times from staff,

1:26:04I just wanna say thank you,

1:26:06is about being housing ready.

1:26:08You've said it tonight a couple of times, Krista.

1:26:10And the councillor highlighted it with the numbers.

1:26:14We've all highlighted it with the numbers

1:26:16of approved and unbuilt thousands of homes

1:26:20that are ready to go.

1:26:22They don't have to come here.

1:26:23They don't have to go to committee of adjustment.

1:26:26Some of them don't even have to go to site plan.

1:26:27It's literally like go get a permit.

1:26:29They can't.

1:26:31Wanna know why?

1:26:32Because it doesn't pencil.

1:26:34The project doesn't pencil anymore

1:26:37because of the costs involved

1:26:40and the affordability and everything else

1:26:42that has been talked about here.

1:26:44The projects are drying up

1:26:47because it's not penciling anymore.

1:26:48It doesn't work.

1:26:50The math doesn't work.

1:26:52I am very disappointed still.

1:26:56And you've heard me say this before.

1:26:58I will praise when praise is warranted,

1:27:00but I will critique respectfully when critique is warranted.

1:27:04The province lowering their own housing targets

1:27:09in their budgets, pen to paper, ink in their budgets

1:27:14showing a redrop and recognizing the drop

1:27:17in the housing starts,

1:27:18yet not amending the municipalities targets.

1:27:22Not fair.

1:27:24It's not fair at all.

1:27:26And we're doing everything we can.

1:27:29One day I'm gonna sit down and look

1:27:32at the amount of changes we have made

1:27:36on zoning as of right permissions,

1:27:39delegated authority, speeding up decision times,

1:27:43all the things that we've done as a council.

1:27:46And yet the shovel isn't going in the ground

1:27:48and that is not fair to lay at the feet of council

1:27:51or our city staff.

1:27:52It's just not.

1:27:53It's just not.

1:27:54We are in a different world right now.

1:27:57It's actually, it's still scary

1:27:59because this is a very scary issue for our community,

1:28:03both on home ownership, attainable housing,

1:28:06affordable housing and on rental as well.

1:28:12Yeah, I'll stop there.

1:28:13I guess I got more, but whatever.

1:28:15I'll stop there.

1:28:16You know what I'm saying.

1:28:19I actually just want to take the time to say thank you

1:28:21to two groups of people.

1:28:23One is staff.

1:28:26Thank you for pushing stuff through

1:28:28as much as you possibly can

1:28:29and bringing us things to try to,

1:28:32and then that leads me to the second group of people.

1:28:35Council, sincerely, thank you very much.

1:28:37We are doing good work.

1:28:38We're trying our best to do things

1:28:40and push things through,

1:28:41but we can only control what we can control.

1:28:45And that's just the honest take

1:28:46of what's happening right now.

1:28:48And I don't think we should let up.

1:28:50Like don't get me wrong.

1:28:51I don't think we should be like, okay, we've done enough.

1:28:53I think we still need to remain focused

1:28:55on what we can do, continue to push changes

1:28:59and ideas to make things pencil a little bit better

1:29:03and continue with the advocacy work collectively

1:29:05with our counterparts like AMO

1:29:07and Autistic City Mayor's Caucus and whatnot

1:29:10to the province and to the feds as well.

1:29:14I'm glad you mentioned, Christa, the GST issue.

1:29:17That has completely frozen the home building sector.

1:29:22It is nothing to do with the municipality.

1:29:25The fact that the federal government promised

1:29:27that they would look to wipe away the GST

1:29:29on certain homes for certain under certain amount.

1:29:33That I've talked to developers,

1:29:35that's what's drying up pre-construction sales.

1:29:38And I don't blame buyers, right?

1:29:40Why would you go and put a deposit down on a house?

1:29:42If you know in a week, maybe,

1:29:45the federal government will finally change their rules

1:29:48to wipe away the GST and save you thousands of dollars

1:29:51on a house, you'd wait, we'd all wait.

1:29:55And so the fact that those changes have been kind of dangled

1:29:58out in front of everybody for months, for months,

1:30:03and it still hasn't resolved yet,

1:30:05buyers are just waiting and I don't blame them.

1:30:08So that's not a fault of the developers either.

1:30:11And we have to make, I want you to know

1:30:13the developers are trying their best to make things pencil,

1:30:17make things work and they're doing advocacy as well.

1:30:20And I have noticed more positivity

1:30:24coming from developers for our city staff,

1:30:27about how they're working really well with everybody.

1:30:30In this climate of uncertainty,

1:30:32they're doing as good as they possibly can.

1:30:35So I just wanna publicly say that as well.

1:30:37Look, we're meeting targets in other areas

1:30:40and that's good and we're a little bit short

1:30:42and some others.

1:30:43And but I just thank you for getting the data together

1:30:48and presenting it as you have.

1:30:49And we'll all keep plugging away as best as

1:30:51that we possibly can.

1:30:54And do what we can.

1:30:55And maybe we'll have to think outside the box more.

1:30:58I'm sure we're gonna have to.

1:31:01Just to try to get shovels in the ground on some things.

1:31:03So thank you very much.

1:31:04Sorry, there's my four minutes.

1:31:07Probably a bit too much, but thank you very much.

1:31:09I will stop there and I will call the vote then.

1:31:13Is anyone against receiving this presentation?

1:31:16Nobody, okay.

1:31:18And that brings me back to you, Councillor Allt.

1:31:20Would you mind moving the bylaws for us?

1:31:23We'll pop up on the screen there for you.

1:31:25Thank you very much, Mayor Guthrie.

1:31:27Moved by me and unbeknownst to her