OUR NEIGHBOURHOODS ARE INTENSIFYING
NIMBYism ‘not in my backyard’ hurts all of us
Asdevelopment intensifies in the Greater Toronto Area in accordance with provincial growth policy, developers seeking to build new housing are running into more and more opposition from residents in existing communities who like their neighbourhoods the way they are and don’t want change.
These days “not in my backyard” opposition can be heard on everything from semidetached houses in Burlington to townhouse developments in Barrie, Scarborough and midtown Toronto, to high-rise condo projects along key subway lines. But NIMBYism doesn’t just impact developers, it also affects new home buyers.
“The growing chants of NIMBYism are contributing to the GTA’s housing supply challenges,” says Bryan Tuckey, president and CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD). “Disputes over projects result in delays and increased costs which are ultimately paid by the people buying the new homes.”
A recent Fraser Institute study found that opposition from councils and community groups “substantially” reduces the building industry’s ability to provide housing supply that responds to growing demand, which ultimately impacts prices. The study, the first of its kind in Canada, also reported that long and uncertain project-approval timelines can be “detrimental” to housing supply, and that increasing the length of approval timelines or their perceived uncertainty is sufficient to “completely mute the responsiveness of the housing supply to demand in desirable neighbourhoods.” “NIMBYism has always been there in varying degrees,” says former City of Toronto chief planner Paul Bedford. “It’s just way more intense now because of the rapid change that’s taking place in Toronto and the rest of the GTA.”
That rapid pace of change is the move to a more intensive pattern of development across the region.
“Development is highly regulated,” says Tuckey. “Developers don’t just build what they want, where and when we want to build it. Government policies and plans at multiple levels determine how land can be used and control where and how development occurs.”
THE GROWTH PLAN
A decade ago the provincial government set out to change the nature of development in the GTA and move away from the largely suburban-oriented form of development that we had been following for many decades, he adds.
In 2005, the province established the Greenbelt and permanently protected 7,200 square kilometres or almost 2 million acres of significant farmland and green space from development. Then in 2006, the government of Ontario introduced the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe to manage growth in the region and guide development in the GTA and the area outside the Greenbelt.
The Growth Plan’s aim is to achieve more intensification, to make development more compact and use less land to accommodate more people and jobs. Among the plan’s series of policies and targets is the requirement for 40 per cent of all development to occur within already existing communities, explains Tuckey, adding that the province recently proposed increasing the requirement to 60 per cent.
“The Growth Plan mandates GTA municipalities and the industry to build up and not out,” he says. “Ten years ago, most of the new homes built in the GTA were low-rise single family homes, but today we are building at least as many multi-family high-rise homes as ground-related homes.”
New housing is necessary, he adds, because the GTA’s population grows by about 100,000 new residents each year due to immigration and babies being born, “and simply put, everyone needs somewhere to live.
“The industry has risen to the challenge of intensification policies and has developed many innovative products so that consumers have a range of housing options. There are now many configurations of townhomes and stacked townhomes. We are building mid-rise as well as high-rise condo buildings and we are building them across the GTA,” he adds.
THE NEED TO UNDERSTAND INTENSIFICATION
Unfortunately, not everyone is embracing denser development. “Much of the opposition to development in the GTA stems from the disconnect between the public policy and public perception,” says Tuckey. “Provincial policy mandates intensified forms of
“The growing chants of NIMBYism are contributing to the GTA’s housing supply challenges.”
development, but there is little public understanding of and even less support for intensification.” He adds that “for years the industry has been asking the government to educate the public on how and why their neighbourhoods are changing, but we have yet to see anything.”
“There’s been a lot of change everywhere, more than there’s ever been,” says Bedford. “So frankly I’m not surprised by the pushback and strong reaction to intensification.”
Intensification is the GTA’s new reality, and it’s not going away. So residents face a fundamental choice, says Bedford: “They can either fight everything, or they can engage in a conversation with planners and developers about the kind of changes they’d like to see in their neighbourhood.”
Most communities have a wish list, he says, whether it’s widened sidewalks, more green space, affordable housing for all ages or new shops and services. “But people often aren’t making the connection that the only way to get some of that is through redevelopment and intensification. That gives you the critical mass to be able to support all those things.”
He points to Great Gulf’s 18 Yorkville Ave project: Its development resulted in a new public square and funds to renovate the local library. “Redevelopment and intensification requires ongoing conversation and negotiation,” says Bedford. It’s not enough for communities simply to say no to evolution in their backyard. “Nobody would open up an RRSP with a certain mix of stocks in it, then forget about it for 30 years and never change a thing,” he says. “Cities change, and it is essential to adjust to that ongoing reality.”
“I’d much rather be in a vibrant city that has the challenge of how to best accommodate growth and change, versus a place that’s shrinking and dying.” People rightly want to know how growth can benefit both their local neighbourhood and the city as a whole. Developers and communities need to continually keep these perspectives in mind.
Tuckey says the building industry has become acutely attuned to the sensitivities surrounding new development in existing neighbourhoods, where residents may not welcome change.
“Good communication and information sharing are the keys to helping people properly respond to changes in their communities,” he says. “Reaction to infill development can be intense and vocal. Our industry needs to engage local residents early on and work to create consultation processes that enable communities to better understand the goals and benefits of intensification and the specific projects.”
WE ALL NEED TO WORK TOGETHER
The end goal is for stakeholders to engage in a collaborative process that results in a solution that benefits everyone. Says Tuckey, “We all need to work together.”
Development can bring new life to established neighbourhoods, while providing new residents with places to live and home hunters a variety of product choices and price points, he says. Denser communities have the population to support additional amenities, shops and services. This uptick in business in turn creates jobs for locals, enabling residents to work closer to where they live. Residential and business growth subsequently increases the property tax base, generating additional funds to invest in parks, infrastructure and transit.
“New development can do a lot of good when it comes to creating complete communities where residents can live, work, play and shop,” Tuckey says. “So we need to continue to emphasize all the compelling reasons for people to say, ‘yes in my backyard.’”
“Provincial policy mandates intensified forms of development, but there is little public understanding of and even less support for intensification.”