Item - 2018.AH10.2

The Affordable Housing Committee recommends to Executive Committee that:  

1. City Council authorize the Director, Affordable Housing Office, to provide capital funding from the Development Charges Reserve Fund for Subsidized Housing (XR2116), in the amounts and for the projects described in Chart A in the Financial Impact section of the report (June 11, 2018) from the Director, Affordable Housing Office and in an amount not to exceed $9,941,566, to facilitate the creation of 606 affordable rental homes through the Open Door Program.

2. City Council authorize that the projects described in Chart A in the Financial Impact section of the report (June 11, 2018) from the Director, Affordable Housing Office be exempt from the payment of development charges, building, planning and parkland dedication fees.

3. City Council authorize an exemption from taxation for municipal and school purposes for the projects and for the periods of time described in Chart A in the Financial Impact section and Appendix 1 of the report (June 11, 2018) from the Director, Affordable Housing Office.

4.  City Council authorize City staff to cancel or refund any taxes paid after the effective date of the municipal capital facility agreement, the City's "Contribution Agreement".

5. City Council authorize the Director, Affordable Housing Office, to negotiate and enter into, on behalf of the City, a municipal housing facility agreement, for the developers of the projects described in Chart A to the report (June 11, 2018) from the Director, Affordable Housing Office, or related corporations, to secure the financial assistance and to set out the terms of the development and operation of the new affordable rental housing, on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Director, Affordable Housing Office, in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer and General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, in a form approved by the City Solicitor.

6. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to execute, on behalf of the City, any security or financing documents or any other documents required to facilitate the funding process, including any documents required by the developers of the projects described in Chart A to the report (June 11, 2018) from the Director, Affordable Housing Office, or their related corporations to complete construction and conventional financing, where required.

7. Subject to the Province's approval of the City's Take-Up Plan, submitted under the Provincial Development Charges Rebate Program, and the receipt of requested funds from the Province, City Council authorize the Director, Affordable Housing Office, to advance funds to rebate the development charges levied under the City's Development Charges By-law, with respect to the mid-range rental units set out in Chart C of the Financial Impact section of the report (June 11, 2018) from the Director, Affordable Housing Office.

8. City Council authorize the Director, Affordable Housing Office to negotiate and enter into, on behalf of the City, agreements with the developers of the projects described in Chart C of the Financial Impact section of the report (June 11, 2018) from the Director, Affordable Housing Office to secure the rental tenure of the  mid-range rental units receiving the Provincial Development Charges Rebate, on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Director, Affordable Housing Office, in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer and General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, in a form approved by the City Solicitor.

9. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to introduce such project specific bills, in order to secure rental tenure, to Council for enactment or to execute, on behalf of the City, any security or financing documents or any other documents required to facilitate the developments or the financing of the developments listed in Chart C of the Financial Impact section of the report (June 11, 2018) from the Director, Affordable Housing Office.

10. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to execute, postpone, confirm the status of, and discharge any City security documents registered as required by normal business practices.

11. City Council authorize the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to make necessary future budget adjustments to accommodate the cash flow for the funds approved in the report (June 11,2018) from the Director, Affordable Housing Office from the Development Charges Reserve Fund for Subsidized Housing.

12.  City Council request the Director, Affordable Housing Office to advise the recommended applicants for Open Door Program incentives that their Open Door Program approvals do not constitute the approval of the project for planning purposes, and that the Director, Affordable Housing Office, be authorized, upon the project receiving final planning approval, to adjust the financial and funding incentives approved through the Open Door Program to reflect the results of the planning process.
 

13.  City Council request the Director, Affordable Housing Office to make adjustments to the Open Door Program criteria in 2019 to provide recognition of the importance of non-profit and co-operative rental housing providers and public housing.

14.  City Council request the Director, Affordable Housing to support the non-profit and co-operative housing sectors in their participation in the new National Housing Co-Investment Fund, including confirming availability of waivers for Planning Application Fees and Development Charges, as well as liaising with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to facilitate the approval of new affordable housing projects proposed by these sectors.

15.  City Council request the Director, Affordable Housing to consult with the non-profit and co-operative housing sectors in the development of the City’s new 10 year Housing Opportunities Toronto Action Plan 2020-2030, and report in 2019 on actions to improve non-profit and co-operative development capacity and scale up the development of new housing by these sectors.

The Affordable Housing Committee:

1.  Requested the Director, Affordable Housing Committee to report to the Executive Committee with an update on the status of the Ontario Development Charge Rebate Program and any implications with respect to the City’s administration of the Program, including the funding allocations being recommended in 2018.

This report outlines the results of the 2018 Open Door Program Call for Affordable Rental Housing Applications and recommends eight development proposals for Council approval, representing 606 affordable homes across the City. Three of these proposals include 422 mid-range rental homes that are recommended for the Provincial Development Charges Rebate program.

The report also recommends that authority be granted to Director of the Affordable Housing Office to enter into the necessary agreements to fund and secure the construction and operation of these affordable and mid-range rental housing developments.

The Open Door Program is a five-year initiative approved by City Council in July 2016. The program is designed to scale up City efforts to achieve Toronto’s targets of approving 5,000 affordable rental and 2,000 affordable ownership homes for low- and moderate-income residents by 2020.

With the approval of the affordable homes recommended in this report and other Open Door Program approvals in 2018, the City is on track to achieve its annual target of approving 1,000 affordable rental homes this year.

The recommended development projects represent the results of a competitive Call for Applications which was issued on January 17, 2018 and closed on March 22, 2018.  These applications were reviewed by an interdivisional committee of staff from the Affordable Housing Office, City Planning, City Legal, Shelter Support & Housing Administration, and Corporate Finance.