Housing must be viewed as a social right and not simply as a commodity. We have a collective responsibility to ensure that we create housing that is affordable to all households including those with low and modest incomes. Our existing models bid up land values and distribute the unearned benefits of intensification efforts largely to private developers and investors. Our planning and zoning tools fail to ensure that the benefits of intensification are shared between developers and the community so that lands are transferred to public bodies and used to create affordable homes and rental units. Fast tracking developments on farmland and adding more highways do nothing to create affordable housing.
Ask your candidates what they will do to:
- Ensure at least 20% of new housing starts are affordable rental housing
- Ensure permitting higher densities includes production of al least 50% affordable housing (low and middle income households)
- Directly fund non-profit social housing projects aimed at low and modest income households
- Use site plan agreements and other tools to fund community land trusts to support local efforts to develop affordable rental housing
- Curb land speculation, urban sprawl, flipping properties and other measures to bring down land costs
A poster and questions for candidates can be found here.
