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September 21 and 22

2 days, 2 disciplines, 2 ways to participate – defining our professional roles and uniting to build more equitable, accessible and inspired communities.

#2GETHER2022

Beyond 25 Banner

September 21 and 22

2 days, 2 disciplines, 2 ways to participate – defining our professional roles and uniting to build more equitable, accessible and inspired communities.

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#2GETHER2022

102A: Inclusionary Zoning: Using Various Policy Frameworks for Municipal Applications

September 21, 2022

11:00AM - 11:30AM

Inclusionary zoning may now be applied under Ontario enabling legislation. Toronto is the first municipality to develop and approve policy to implement inclusionary zoning, but a number of other municipalities are considering the application of inclusionary zoning policy. But even though there is broad experience in North America with over 800 US jurisdictions applying a number of variants of inclusionary zoning over a number of years, there is still not a clear understanding in the Ontario context of how to best apply inclusionary zoning or the implications of applying the tool by using different policy frameworks.

The objective of this presentation is to provide an understanding of the various ways in which the policy may be applied, to discuss the impacts of using different policy frameworks, and to use the US experience to shed some light on these applications.

Several policy questions must be addressed in designing an inclusionary zoning application. One of the most basic decisions is to determine whether the policy will be developed under an exaction policy framework, such as the policy framework for development charges and parkland dedication, or under a land value capture framework, where the approach is to increase the value of the property then use part of that value to provide the resulting affordable housing units. The latter approach is exemplified by land value capture tools, such as density bonuses (or what was undertaken under Section 37 in Ontario).

The presentation discusses the different policy options that can be used in designing a policy within the existing provincial legislation and the implications and comparisons of using different frameworks. The session includes a discussion of who bears the incidence or burden under different policy frameworks. It will also draw on US examples and practice in terms of the impacts of various approaches and what has been most successful in providing affordable housing units.
 

Speakers