The Ontario government is allowing some municipalities to set their own housing targets under its More Homes Built Faster legislation — but not Newmarket.
Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas announced this week that the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is asking his town to set its own target to build more housing by 2031. This comes several months after the province imposed targets on 29 municipalities, including Newmarket.
Newmarket refuted the target of 12,000 homes by 2031, which council felt was not feasible due to the town's lack of sewage capacity. After the province pressured Newmarket on the issue, Mayor John Taylor told NewmarketToday the province's new approach could work better.
“Newmarket is an example of how the province doesn’t always know the details, or the detailed complications in each municipality,” Taylor said. “Having them (municipalities) set a target themselves is probably a more productive way to go.”
The province is pushing municipalities to build more housing to reach a target of 1.5 million homes by 2031. It imposed targets on 29 large and fast-growing municipalities, with Newmarket being one of the only ones to refuse its target, only due to the lack of sewage capacity.
In a letter to Aurora, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark said his is requesting pledges to get more municipalities to accelerate housing development.
“Municipalities are critical partners to help us get more homes built faster. Our intention in requesting a housing pledge is that it will be approved by municipal councils and help codify council’s commitment to their target,” Clark said.
Spokesperson Victoria Podbielski said the ministry is asking 21 more municipalities for these pledges.
"We will continue to consider ways to empower other municipalities who are shovel-ready and committed to growth," Podbielski said.
Mrakas said he prepared a resolution to direct staff to work on a housing pledge suiting municipal needs.
“This will allow us to stand with other municipalities in our commitment to do our part,” Mrakas said on his blog. “While we focus on building more houses quickly, we must also make sure to prioritize infrastructure projects. It’s important that our communities have the right infrastructure in place to support the expected growth.”
Although Newmarket did not receive the same offer, Taylor said he has communicated with the ministry and expects the town to get an updated target lower than the previously imposed 12,000.
Taylor said it might work better for the town to set its own target, but it is fine as long as the imposed target is something possible.
He added that he’s not “trying to grandstand or be difficult. It’s just about making sure we’re creating reasonable expectations for our community.”
