Joint Finance and Corporate Services and Planning and Housing Committee

Agenda

Meeting #:

2

Date:

Wednesday, November 06, 2024

Time:

11:00 A.m. - 3:00 P.m.

Location:

Andrew S. Haydon Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West, and by electronic participation

Members:

• Chair: Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, 
• Chair: Councillor Jeff Leiper, 
• Vice-Chair: Councillor Catherine Kitts, 
• Vice-Chair: Councillor Glen Gower, 
• Councillor Riley Brockington, 
• Councillor Cathy Curry, 
• Councillor George Darouze, 
• Councillor Laura Dudas, 
• Councillor Laine Johnson, 
• Councillor Theresa Kavanagh, 
• Councillor Clarke Kelly, 
• Councillor Rawlson King, 
• Councillor Matt Luloff, 
• Councillor Wilson Lo, 
• Councillor Shawn Menard, 
• Councillor Tim Tierney, 
• and Councillor Ariel Troster 

Melinda Aston, Committee Coordinator
[e-mail], [phone], ext. 21838

This meeting will start 15 minutes following the conclusion of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee meeting.

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1.

Notices and meeting information for meeting participants and the public

Notices and meeting information are attached to the agenda and minutes, including: availability of simultaneous interpretation and accessibility accommodations; in camera meeting procedures; information items not subject to discussion; personal information disclaimer for correspondents and public speakers; notices regarding minutes; and hybrid participation details.

Accessible formats and communication supports are available, upon request.

Except where otherwise indicated, reports requiring Council consideration will be presented to Council on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, in Joint Finance and Corporate Services and Planning and Housing Committee Report 2.

The deadline to register by phone to speak or submit written comments or visual presentations is 4 pm on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, and the deadline to register to speak by email is 8:30 am on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.

2.

Declarations of Interest

3.

Confirmation of Minutes

3.1

FCSC-PHC Minutes 1 – November 2 and 3, 2023

4.

Strategic Initiatives Department

4.1

2024 Affordable Housing Capital Strategy and Update

File No. ACS2024-SI-HSI-0016 - Citywide

• Report Recommendation(s)

  That the Joint Finance and Corporate Services Committee and Planning and Housing Committee recommend that Council:

  1. Delegate authority to the Director, Housing Solutions and Investment  Services to allocate the balance of the $15,000,000 from the 2024 affordable housing capital budget, being $13,956,051,  to support the creation of new affordable housing through conditional capital contributions, contributions in lieu of building permit and school board fees, non-exempt planning fees and accessibility grants, and to provide a contingency fund, subject to the conditional contributions being included in a contribution agreement between the City and each housing provider, and that of the $13,956,051:
     
     1. Up to $1,365,416 be allocated to Shepherds of Good Hope (SGH) for the continued development of 48 units at 216 Murray Street;
     2. Up to $1,650,000 be allocated to Centretown Citizens of Ottawa Corporation (CCOC) for the development of 10 new affordable rental units at 171 Armstrong Ave;
     3. Up to $3,000,000 be allocated to Habitat for Humanity to construct affordable homes (ownership) at two properties to be confirmed in a separate report;
     4. Up to $6,000,000 be allocated to Ottawa Community Housing Corporation to contribute towards the construction of approximately 90 affordable rental units at 1770 Heatherington Road
     5. any remaining or unallocated funds, to either a contingency budget to support projects that require additional funding, or to cover non-exempt City fees and charges, or to projects on the Non-profit Pre-development Pipeline List in (Document 1) to this report, and to any other projects that receive, or will receive, pre-development funding and that may be added to the Pipeline list in accordance with the selection criteria outlined in this report. 
  2. Approve that any remaining Ontario Priorities Housing Initiatives (OPHI) funding from the $600,000 2024-2025 Ontario Renovates budget be allocated by the Director, Housing Solutions and Investment Services to either private households or not-for-profit organizations, removing the cap of up to $300,000 for households and up to $300,000 for not-for-profit organizations to ensure funds are spent by the required deadline of December 31, 2024, as established by the Province; and that should the City receive 2025-2026 Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative funding, that the Director, Housing Solutions and Investment Services be authorized to allocate up to $600,000 of the funds towards a continuation of the Ontario Renovates program (without category cap), and that any remaining OPHI funds be allocated, in accordance with OPHI program guidelines, to shovel-ready projects on the  Non-profit Pre-development Pipeline List in (Document 1) to this report, and to any other projects that receive, or will receive, pre-development funding and that may be added to the Pipeline List in accordance with the selection criteria outlined in this report.  
  3. Approve an extension up to March 31, 2025 of the short-term interest-free repayable loan of $606,075 to the African Caribbean Association of Ottawa (ACAO) that was provided through the 2021 Capital Plan for their project at 881-883 Pinecrest Road and Delegate authority to the Director, Housing Solutions and Investment Services to convert a portion of the short-term loan to a conditional contribution, if required, based on the mortgage eligibility of ACAO.
  4. Delegate authority to the Director, Housing Solutions and Investment Services to allocate any additional funding that becomes available in 2024 and 2025, to either a contingency budget to support projects that require additional funding, or to cover non-exempt City fees and charges, or to projects on the Non-profit Pre-development Pipeline (Document 1), and to any other projects that receive, or will receive, pre-development funding and that may be added to the Pipeline list in accordance with the selection criteria outlined in this report. 

5.

Finance and Corporate Services Department

5.1

Vacant Unit Tax Program - Update on Year One Data and Improvements

• Report Recommendation(s)

  That the Joint Finance and Corporate Services Committee and Planning and Housing Committee recommend that Council:

  1. Receive an update on the Vacant Unit Tax program.
  2. Approve enhancements to the program and by-law as outlined in this report.

5.2

Housing Services Long Range Financial Plan 2025-2030 Update

File No. ACS2024-FCS-FIN-0011 - City-wide

• Report Recommendation(s)

  That the Special Joint Finance and Corporate Services and Planning and Housing Committee recommend that Council approve:

  1. That the annual contribution from taxation for affordable housing continue to be increased by $1 million annually for the next six years (2025 to 2030) to increase the affordable housing annual base budget capital contribution from $9 million to $15 million by 2030, within Council’s approved tax target.
  2. Continue to allocate the net proceeds from the Vacant Unit Tax to the City’s Housing Reserve.
  3. Stop increasing the Development Charge Exemption Charge budget by $500 thousand annually because exemptions for affordable housing (including Transit DCs) are now mandatory under provincial law (Bill 23). 
  4. Ensure the City’s Housing Reserve maintain a positive balance and if it goes into deficit, repay the negative balance within one to three years from the capital contribution, unless other sources are available.
  5. Direct staff to continue efforts to secure additional capital funding from the federal and provincial governments estimated at $342.8 million over the next six years to support new affordable and supportive housing units.
  6. Direct staff to explore the feasibility of the City offering debt financing, as an alternative to direct equity contributions to support service providers in launching affordable housing projects and that the debt servicing would be temporarily covered by the city’s Affordable Housing annual budget until service providers can use rent revenue to cover these costs
  7. Direct staff to continue to pursue permanent stable operating funding from the federal and provincial governments estimated at $13.7 million annually over the next six years to provide up to 1,300 new housing subsidies annually.
  8. Direct staff to advocate for the continuation of existing provincial and federal programs to secure $75 million annually from 2027-2030 to support new supportive and transitional housing, enhanced support services, and increase emergency shelter funding. 

6.

Adjournment

Next Meeting:

to be determined.