Latest news with #sixplexes
CTV News
9 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Toronto City Council votes to permit sixplexes in nine wards
Toronto City Council has approved a motion that will allow low-rise sixplexes in a nine wards. Staff initially recommended that councillors permit sixplexes in detached residential buildings in low-rise residential neighbourhoods city-wide. 'Expanding multiplex permissions will increase new low-rise housing options for Torontonians. New residents in low-rise neighbourhoods can help stabilize declining populations, optimize the use of existing infrastructure, and support local retail establishments and services,' staff said in its report last month. However, during Wednesday's city council meeting, not all councillors supported the recommendation. Coun. Gord Perks, who is the chair of the housing committee, then put forward a motion that would permit sixplexes in the downtown Toronto and East York wards and in Scarborough North. The remaining wards have the option to join later. 'I'm moving this very reluctantly,' Perks said while presenting his motion. 'I've spent a considerable amount of time and effort working with my colleagues on council trying to find a majority support for doing what this council already committed to in 2023, which is citywide sixplexes, but I've been unable to find that.' Permitting sixplexes is included in one of the eight initiatives the city must deliver over three years under the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) agreement with the federal government in exchange for $471 million. In a letter in March, the federal government gave Mayor Olivia Chow a June 30 deadline to report to council with opportunities and bylaws to allow more low-rise, multi-unit housing development across Toronto, which includes sixplexes. The letter also provided extended timelines for several other housing initiatives. 'As we work to ensure compliance with over 200 HAF agreements across Canada, we are establishing consequences for non-compliance. In this case, if Toronto does not fully implement the above initiatives and milestones by the newly extended timeline, the federal government will cut funding equivalent to 25 per cent of the annual payment,' the letter read. So far, the city has received $235.56 million of the $471 million. Perks said his motion would create some risk with its relationship with the federal government. 'There is a potential that funds that have already been dispersed in the City of Toronto could be clawed back, meaning that affordable housing projects that we already have plans for in the City of Toronto could fall by the wayside,' Perks said. He shared that some councillors spoke to their Liberal MPs, who told them that the city didn't need sixplexes. 'So, I say to the federal government, if you want, if you want to achieve this citywide, tell the members of your Toronto caucus to stop giving Toronto city councillors mixed messages,' Perks said. His motion passed. 'I am confident that, as more people see the benefits of missing middle housing, where average rent is $830 cheaper than condos and 65% of units are family-sized, more councillors will also opt in,' Mayor Chow said in a statement following the vote.
CBC
13 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Council votes to allow sixplexes in 9 Toronto wards, leaving suburbs to opt in
Following a long debate Wednesday, Toronto councillors compromised on whether to allow sixplexes across the city, voting to allow the multi-unit housing in only nine wards and giving other wards the chance to opt-in. Coun. Gord Perks, who was pushing for a city-wide adoption, ultimately introduced a motion "very reluctantly" to allow sixplexes in eight Toronto-East York district wards and Ward 23 (Scarborough North), where a pilot is already in place, saying he wanted to increase housing density in some capacity rather than none. "I've spent a considerable amount of time and effort working with my colleagues on council, trying to find majority support for doing what this council already committed to in 2023, which is city wide sixplexes," he said after hours of debate. "But I've been unable to find that." Along with Ward 23, the following wards will now allow sixplexes: Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park. Ward 9, Davenport. Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York. Ward 11, University-Rosedale. Ward 12, Toronto-St. Paul's. Ward 13, Toronto Centre. Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth. Ward 19, Beaches-East York. The motion allows councillors of the remaining 16 wards to make a request to the city's chief planner to opt in if interested in allowing sixplexes. It also directed city staff to make sure necessary neighbourhood infrastructure is available to support added density where sixplexes are built, including street cleaning, public realm maintenance and improvements. The vote follows a city staff report that recommended allowing low-rise sixplexes across Toronto as-of-right, so they could be built without special permission. That followed a decision to allow fourplexes across the city in 2023. Lengthy debate leaves councillors divided City staff noted that allowing sixplexes would be a "significant milestone" in meeting Toronto's commitments under the federal Housing Accelerator Fund to allow more low-rise, multi-unit housing development through as-of-right zoning bylaws in its neighbourhoods. Coun. Perks warned councillors that the city could be denied funding if it voted against approving sixplexes. But the issue remained divisive at council, with Coun. Stephen Holyday pushing back. "That is the definition of selling out the residents for money," Holyday said. "Why don't we just ask the people what they want?" he said. "They're not satisfied with ramming through sixplexes in communities that were never designed to house them." Parthi Kandavel, councillor for Scarborough Southwest, told reporters that adding sixplexes to wards like his would put pressure on community infrastructure, parking and property costs. "If you give more units the permissions, land value increases," he said. "This will have a tremendous impact for working and middle class families on the path to home ownership in the suburbs … and that's a primary part of our concerns." In a statement following the vote, Mayor Olivia Chow said the city needs to do more to address the housing affordability crisis, and she hopes all wards will soon allow sixplexes. "I am confident that, as more people see the benefits of missing middle housing, where average rent is $830 cheaper than condos and 65% of units are family-sized, more councillors will also opt in," she said.
