Last week I took a field trip to Scarborough Civic Centre for new chair Jamaal Myers’ first TTC board meeting! As winter approaches, the TTC proposes a new approach to homeless people on the TTC, but it sounds an awful lot like just pushing people out of sight. Read on for details.
Tag: housing
Tracking Olivia Chow’s First 100 Days as Toronto Mayor
In Olivia Chow, Toronto has its first progressive mayor in 12 years. How will she tackle the city’s many critical issues? Will City Council’s power balance shift? My new column for The Local tracks Chow’s first 100 days. In the first installment, I look at how the mayor—and organizers on the ground—addressed the asylum seeker crisis that unfolded at 129 Peter St. Plus, a few key items from this week’s Council meeting.
The Local: How Toronto’s Mayoral Candidates Plan to Address the Housing Crisis
How Toronto’s Mayoral Candidates Plan to Address the Housing Crisis
Yet another municipal election is nigh. In my new piece for The Local, I analyze six top mayoral candidates’ housing platforms, which range from ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ to an ambitious return to the days of government-built mixed-income social housing on a large scale.
Just the numbers (this table is in the article, too):
| Saunders | Bradford | Bailão | Chow | Hunter | Matlow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total cost | Unspecified | Unspecified | $49M | $404M | $1B | $407M |
| Source | Not taxes | Not taxes | City Building Fund (existing) | City Building Fund increase | Property tax increase, reserve funds | Cancelling Gardiner East, freezing police bucget |
| Units | Unspecified | At least 16,000 (as in original Housing Now plan) | HousingTO targets, provincial mandate of 285,000 | 10,000–25,000 | 22,700 | 15,000 |
| Affordability | At least some units in developments on city-owned land | 33% of housing on under-utilized city-owned land, 20% in office conversions | 40,000 affordable rentals and 4,000 affordable ownership by 2030 | At least 7,500 at 80% AMR, 2,500 at 30% AMR | 5,660 at AMR, 3,468 at 80% AMR, 2,108 at 40% AMR, 6,135 affordable ownership | 45% affordable rental (30% at AMR, 10% at 80% AMR, 5% rent geared to income, or at 30-40% AMR); subject to consultations |
City Hall Watcher #160
This issue is not just a nice round number, it also marks City Hall Watcher’s three-year anniversary, so it’s free for everyone! For this one, I talked to folks about how winter and the pandemic are pushing Toronto’s shelter system to its limits (and, yes, crunched some numbers). I also have a preview of the upcoming City Council agenda, including SafeTO, golf, moths, an Integrity Commissioner investigation, and the first 16 inclusionary zoning…zones.
The Week at Toronto City Hall #4
Toronto City Council meets next week! On the agenda: Inclusionary Zoning, keeping industrial lands industrial, the winter shelter plan, and your Tree Removal Permit Application of the Month, which sent me down a wild medical and botanical rabbit hole. Plus, meet an ubiquitous but little-known household insect in my Bug Report.
The Cheat Sheet: July 2018 City Council
It’s the last Council meeting of the 2014-2018 term. Whew. Here’s a rundown of the sizeable agenda, including addressing recent gun violence, end-of-term concerns, plastic straws, affordable housing of all kinds, planning studies, and the newest addition to the PATH.
The Cheat Sheet: June 2018 City Council
Welcome to this term’s penultimate Council meeting! There’s quite a lot on the agenda, including a slew of Integrity Commissioner investigations, laneway housing, improving deadly intersections, and more.
Warning: there are even more swears and opinions than usual. Lately I just feel civility is overrated, you know?
The Cheat Sheet: May 2018 City Council
First of all, my apologies for getting this out late, especially because there is a lot of important stuff on the agenda. We’ve got a council appointment (and another departure), the Eglinton East LRT, #TOcore, new affordable housing opportunities, the Seniors Strategy, and more.
The Cheat Sheet: March 2018 City Council
Toronto City Council meets for the first time since passing the 2018 Budget. On the agenda: REimagining Yonge, winter shelter debriefs, BLOCKCHAIN!11!!!1, billboards, and more.
The Cheat Sheet: January/February 2018 City Council (Extra Special Low Effort Edition)
On this meeting’s agenda: waterfront transit, a Rail Deck Park development proposal, various TCHC issues, self-driving cars, cryptocurrency, a new revenue tool, and, of course, tree removal applications.
Several items were deferred from the last meeting; check my previous write-up. Continue reading The Cheat Sheet: January/February 2018 City Council (Extra Special Low Effort Edition)