WATERLOO REGION — Some Kitchener councillors say they are getting pushback on the Region of Waterloo’s 30-year growth plan from developers, as well as the tech and business community, who want to see more single-family housing built.
Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said he and other councillors have heard from developers, as well as tech groups and local business associations who are concerned that the region’s growth plan prioritizes high density and intensification in the cities with less focus on single-family homes.
“I’m hearing from companies who say they are having a hard time attracting people because of a lack of (housing) affordability,” Vrbanovic said at a recent special council meeting where politicians gathered to talk about the regional growth plan.
“They don’t want to move to Tavistock and commute in,” he said.
The region is holding a final public meeting on growth plans on Wednesday. A recommendation is set to go before regional councillors on Aug. 11, with a final decision to be made on Aug. 18.
The region recently revised its initial growth plans after hearing from residents in the community who wanted to see “bold and progressive” targets when it came to a more varied housing mix, increased intensification in city areas and protection of the countryside line.
Residents also told regional councillors they wanted to see more “missing middle” housing such as three- to four-storey walk-ups and stacked townhouse developments to address a provincewide housing affordability crisis.
The region says it’s planning for the future — the population of the area’s cities and townships is projected to grow to just shy of a million people by 2051.
The revamped growth plan suggests 150 hectares of land are needed for growth, with about 60 per cent of new growth in built-up areas. The 150 hectares is considerably lower than initial proposals of 376 hectares needed in one option and 2,208 hectares required in another recommendation.
The revised plan also suggests creating “15-minute neighbourhoods” where residents can meet their daily needs, including access to jobs, stores, professional services and transit, within a 15-minute radius.
The growth plan will also add an additional 121,000 housing units: more than half in high-density housing such as apartment buildings, 26 per cent in medium-density housing such as townhouses and stacked townhomes and 19 per cent in low-density housing such as single-family homes.
Today, the housing in the region is 59 per cent single-family homes, 26 per cent is high-density and 15 per cent is medium-density.
Rod Regier, the region’s commissioner of planning and development, assured councillors that there is plenty of land to develop in the region and in Kitchener.
“The simple fact is that there is a very significant inventory of housing on the ground being developed,” he said. “I would fundamentally dispute the analysis provided by others on this one.
“We have a tremendous amount of land in the hopper ready to go,” he said.
Planner Paul Britton representing developer Activa Holdings, told Kitchener councillors that the city needs at least 240 hectares of additional land to develop. He said the region has miscalculated the vacant land inventory that is available.
Lawyer Mark Flowers, representing developer Schlegel Urban Developments, said the region has not justified why the townships should get most of the 150 hectares of land but Kitchener gets none.
Coun. Scott Davey said he is concerned when such credible organizations such as the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation says there is housing supply shortage yet the region says there is ample land to build housing.
“Land supply is not constraining the housing supply,” Regier said. “We have enormous amounts of land in the development process.
Kitchener council voted to pass on their concerns about the variety of housing needed and more land to develop to regional council.
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Kitchener councillors getting pushback from groups who want more single-family homes - Waterloo Region Record
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