“I have many serious concerns with Bill 23 that must be addressed before myself and my colleagues in Richmond Hill and across the province can be confident that this legislation will help us to achieve the goals we all share for our communities.”
Today, (December 16, 2022) I am writing to share my stance on Bill 23. In Richmond Hill, we are very supportive towards building our community in a complete, inclusive, environmentally, and fiscally responsible way and in a way that provides more housing for more people.
To that end, Richmond Hill Council passed a Housing Affordability Strategy that will help to make more units affordable for more people in Richmond Hill. We also have 11,000 approved development units that are waiting to be built in our city.
I have many serious concerns with Bill 23 that must be addressed before myself and my colleagues in Richmond Hill and across the province can be confident that this legislation will help us to achieve the goals we all share for our communities. I was pleased to have had the opportunity to meet with representatives from Minister Clark’s office this week and during that meeting, I was able to make our stance clear. I look forward to our advocacy being heard in the spirit it is intended because I want to ensure we work collaboratively to address this crisis and meet our residents’ housing needs, today and in the future.
My main concerns with Bill 23, as it is currently written, are threefold:
Accountability: The lack of accountability in the language of the Bill with regards to the waived Development Charges (DCs) is utmost on my mind. Assurances that these reduced DCs will equate to more affordability for more home buyers need to be written into the legislation to ensure that the correct mix of housing is incentivized. Otherwise, how do we ensure the savings to the builders will be transferred to buyers and not added to developer’s profit margin and ultimately, that more affordable housing will be attainable to more of our residents?
Environmental Impact: The Province is proposing encroaching on Greenbelt lands without due process and consideration. Again, I have to reiterate there is a need for further consultation to better understand the long term implications of this action. Both Richmond Hill and York Region Council passed motions requesting that the Province pause the legislation and allow for meaningful and fulsome consultation prior to November 27 and both requests were ignored.
Financial Considerations: The City is still assessing the total financial implications of Bill 23 but the impacts to Richmond Hill will be serious and significant. We rely on DCs to fund the growth-related community facilities and services that our residents rightly expect. The reality is that our ability to deliver infrastructure projects in our community will be negatively impacted. The following are examples of the significant infrastructure projects that are planned at a cost of $291,000,000 to support the building of our community over the next ten years. As a result of Bill 23, the lost DC revenue will require alternate sources, such as increased property taxes, or the delivery of these projects will be potentially impacted.
- Emergency Services including the new Fire Station 8-7
- Library Services including three planned expansions
- City Services including significant investment in road widening and improvements aswell as Operation Centre expansion and upgrades needed to deliver more services to Richmond Hill residents
- Recreation and Community Centre investments such as the North Leslie Community Centre, Pickleball and Indoor Soccer Facilities, and numerous planned Parks projects, such as David Dunlap Observatory Park, North Leslie East Park, Mill Pond Park, Town & Unity Parks, and Richmond Green Park revitalizations.
To proceed with these projects if DCs are not paid by developers, the likely outcomes are either that the financial burden would be carried by our taxpayers in the form of higher taxes or that the projects will not be built at all. Neither option is acceptable.
To summarize some of our advocacy efforts to date: December 7, the Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) passed the following motion:
And the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) has provided the following comments:
I fully support and endorse these two statements.
York Region and Richmond Hill Councils also passed the following motions regarding our concerns around Bill 23:
Additionally, I have made numerous media statements since October 27:
I stand with my colleagues and counterparts at OBCM, AMO, York Region and Richmond Hill Council. It is disappointing that so many citizens' and municipalities’ voices have been ignored to date regarding their concerns with this legislation.
My message is clear – the accountability, environmental impact, and financial implications of this legislation have not been adequately considered and communicated. Without a clear funding stream from the province, municipalities will not look the same. The current legislation has serious flaws. I will continue to fight for what is best for Richmond Hill; affordable housing that does not compromise our services, our environment, or our pocketbooks.
I would like to invite the Minister to engage with us collaboratively and understand the implications of this Bill for Richmond Hill and our residents.
