Whereas the Government of Ontario passed Bill 23 on November 28, 2022; and
Whereas Bill 23 removes the ability for the City of Brampton to control growth, planning and management, and provides less City Council oversight in neighbourhood redevelopment; and
Whereas Bill 23 has potential to create overcrowding and/or unsuitable living conditions for Brampton residents, while adding additional responsibility for service delivery for the City, and
Whereas Bill 23 introduces a 10-year target of 113,000 new households for the City of Brampton, representing an annual increase in total housing growth nearly three (3) times the City’s historical average over the past 20 years, and;
Whereas Bill 23 amends the definition of ‘affordable housing’ further increasing the threshold from $400,000 to $800,000 at which housing options are deemed affordable and exacerbating ‘entry level’ housing development options; and
Whereas to service the additional infrastructure, an estimated $2 billion will be required beyond the current needs, an equivalent to a one-time property tax increase of 40% over a 10-year period for Brampton residents.; and
Whereas the combination of reduced DC revenue tools and targeted rapid growth will shift a significant portion of these additional infrastructure costs to the Property Tax Base;
Whereas with the rapid rate of growth in Bill 23 the City of Brampton will need funding partners from higher levels of government to build the infrastructure to service this growth without immediate investments in capital planning from the federal and provincial governments;
Finance
Whereas It is estimated that Bill 23 could cost the City $440 million in development charges alone based on current growth plans. Without corresponding provincial grants, the City of Brampton would need to recover that revenue through the tax base or by reducing service levels. In efforts to recover the DC Shortfall, the City could expect an equivalent to a one-time increase of property taxes by about 9%, and;
Whereas additional impacts to development charges may also result from the proposed threshold of 80% of average market value to define affordable housing which could result in additional loss of revenue of between $260M and $800M depending on what % of development meets this threshold which would be equivalent to a one-time property tax increase of between 5%-16%, and;
Whereas the estimated ‘cash-in-lieu’ (CIL) parkland revenue loss is estimated to be as much as $700 million to $1.05 billion over the next decade, equating to a potential one-time increase of property taxes by 14% -21%, and;
Whereas Bill 23 is anticipated to not only reduce revenue for parkland and recreational facilities, but also reduce parks across the City, including less parkland per development and poorer quality parkland directly impacting the quality of life of Brampton residents, and;
Healthcare
Whereas despite the announcement of the Peel Memorial Phase 2 expansion to a full-service hospital, the City of Brampton continues to face a healthcare emergency, and planning must begin immediately for a third hospital in Brampton to meet the growth assigned in Bill 23; and
Riverwalk
Whereas the City of Brampton has secured partial Federal funding while actively advocating and waiting for the Province to also provide its share of funding to advance the Riverwalk project and remove flood risk to unlock downtown Brampton for the development of thousands of new residential units and 9 million square feet of new residential and non-residential gross floor area (GFA) situated at a significant transit hub in downtown Brampton; and
Environment
Whereas Bill 23 will reduce the ability of municipalities to protect, conserve, enhance and manage the natural heritage system, leading to the loss of protected lands, further loss of natural heritage areas and wetlands potentially resulting in significant impacts such as increased risk of serious flooding and climate change risks, and;
Transit
Whereas congestion is an ongoing issue, and the Region of Peel has already determined that building more roads will not solve congestion issues; and
Whereas Brampton has the highest growth in ridership in the country; and
Whereas The City of Brampton needs funding to ensure residents and businesses can depend on transit today, and in the future, transit initiatives and vital transit infrastructure enhances regional connections and supports the growth of a diverse, dynamic and fast-growing city like Brampton; and
Whereas Brampton has not received the same level of transit funding as other comparable municipalities, the city continues to request a fair share of funding from higher levels of government for major transit infrastructure projects; and
Whereas The City of Brampton will need to partner with the province to build transportation infrastructure that best serves the needs of residents not only in Brampton, but across Peel Region, the GTA and communities across Canada’s Innovation Corridor; and
Whereas the City of Brampton will need the provincial government to expedite the approval process in major transit projects including the Highway 7/Queen Street BRT, Hurontario/Main Street LRT extension to the Brampton GO station, and GO Rail Expansion Regional Express Rail service (frequent two-way, all-day) on the Kitchener corridor west of Bramalea GO to Mount Pleasant GO and beyond to Kitchener/Waterloo; and
Whereas Bill 39 Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022 is currently at second reading in the legislature, if adopted without changes it will add further challenges as it pertains to Bill 23 and associated wide ranging changes to municipal planning and potential fiscal impact to the City of Brampton;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
- City of Brampton Council form a special task force comprised of the Mayor (Patrick Brown), Chair of Planning (Councillor Palleschi), Deputy Mayor/Vice-Chair Planning (Councillor Singh), Chair of Community Services and FCM Board Member (Councillor Santos), Chair of Public Works and AMO Board Member (Councillor Vicente), and City Staff as determined by the CAO to develop and deliver a plan of advocacy to the provincial government which focuses on the City’s concerns related to Bill 23 and the need for significant investments to service the growth outlined in Bill 23;
- The plan consider the work being done with municipal advocacy groups such as AMO, FCM, the Ontario Big City Mayors, to mitigate the fiscal impacts to municipalities and address unintended consequences from Bill 23; and
- The task force engage in a meaningful fashion with developers and key stakeholders to identify the best approach to municipal planning and growth management as it relates to Brampton’s existing plans, specific needs and challenges.