PCs introduce bill to give N.S. government more say over HRM development
Halifax mayor calls it a 'direct intrusion' that's not going to solve the housing crisis
The Houston government is giving itself even more power to control development in the Halifax Regional Municipality, in a bill introduced Thursday on the first day of the fall sitting.
According to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr, the changes are needed in order to further speed up the construction of new homes in the capital city.
"This province is in the midst of a housing crisis like we've never seen before," Lohr told reporters at a briefing on the proposed changes. "This is really in response to the fact that we see the housing landscape changing so quickly, and we need to be able to act quickly."
The bill further amends the city's charter, as well as brings changes to the Housing in the Halifax Regional Municipality Act, which was proclaimed just a year ago and was roundly criticized at the time by city council members as "disrespectful" and "disappointing."
The new amendments include:
- Creating a "trusted partner program" which will allow qualified developers to fast-track projects.
- Exempting long-term care homes from land-use bylaws, development agreements and policies.
- Freezing all municipal permit and development fees for two years.
- Reducing minimum lot sizes for buildings.
- Accelerating development approvals.
- Allowing the minister of municipal affairs to approve any development across the entire HRM.
- Allowing the minister to act without any requirement to consult the municipality.
In recent years, HRM has received between $9 million and $11 million in revenue annually in planning and development fees, which would be frozen if the bill is passed.
Although Lohr described HRM council as a "partner" that has improved the time it takes for developers to get their projects approved, he said the changes were needed because the process still wasn't fast enough.
He claimed that projects were still being delayed or denied without good reason.
Halifax Mayor Mike Savage said the move is a "direct intrusion" on the municipality, and Lohr had not given him any details about what the bill would include when they spoke on the phone Wednesday evening.
"This isn't the way you do politics, especially when you've misidentified the problem and said it's somebody else's fault. People are tired of pointing fingers, right?" Savage told reporters at city hall on Thursday afternoon.
"For heaven's sake, we share this province. Let's talk about it and let's not blindside each other."
Savage said the bill "ignores" the real issues slowing down housing projects across the country, which are high interest rates, lack of labour and supply chain issues.
Right now, Savage said building permits have been issued for 11,000 units and there is "development-ready land" for over 200,000 units thanks to zoning changes the municipality has made under various land-use plans.
"We have a number of projects that haven't proceeded because of interest rates that aren't favourable and labour that's not available. That is a math problem, that is not a city problem," Savage said.
Although Savage said the proposed legislation does nothing to get more housing built, it does do a lot to possibly "erode public accountability by consolidating power in the office of the minister."
The mayor said they will have to calculate the impact of freezing current development fees — which Savage noted are among the lowest in Canada — but "that's going to be a problem."
Halifax CAO Cathie O'Toole also said she was concerned that the bill's reference to freezing fees and restricting Halifax's abilities around development agreements could hurt the density bonusing program. That model lets developers pay Halifax a certain amount of money in exchange for extra height or square footage for large projects in the urban centre. Those funds go into a pool that non-profits can apply for.
"We're concerned that we may not be able to continue on with grants for affordable housing," O'Toole said.
Liberal MLA Braedon Clark called the proposed changes an "unprecedented power grab" by the PC government. He accused the Houston government of putting their "boot on the throat of HRM."
Clark said the fact the minister was giving himself extraordinary power over development in HRM meant the government would also have to assume ultimate responsibility for what would happen once the bill became law.
"Now they have nowhere else to point fingers, the responsibility is fully with them because they've swallowed up all the power on this issue," he said.
Changes will impact entire province: minister
Lohr rejected the suggestion this was a power grab on his part.
"I don't see it that way," said Lohr. "I see it as the recognition that we are in a world that is changing so quickly that we need to be able to react nimbly."
Although the minister acknowledged homelessness and the ongoing housing crisis extended to other municipalities, he said the focus was on the Halifax area, where 47 percent of the province's population lives.
"If we can solve the housing crisis in HRM, I know that it will make a big difference in the Annapolis Valley, it'll make a big difference in Truro, it'll make a big difference in the South Shore," said Lohr.
NDP Leader Claudia Chender is also concerned about the added powers, which she described as intruding "quite heavily into municipal areas of jurisdiction."
"That is not why Nova Scotians elected this government," she said. "They elected them based on a promise to fix health care, a promise of transparency, and a promise of good government.
"What we are seeing are more secrecy, more favours for friends and less and less ability to track what it is that this government is actually doing."
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With files from Haley Ryan