Council approves changes to its Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan

Council today approved amendments and updates to the Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP) that it adopted in April. The changes include:

• Clarifying the reference to the applicable average market rent
• Revising the timeline for applying to the program due to recent provincial changes resulting from Bill 185
• Setting a deadline of four years for applicants to receive an occupancy permit after their CIP application has been approved
• Clarifying that the Affordable Housing CIP Tax Increment Equivalent Grant (TIEG) program may not be stacked with other City programs that incentivize affordable units, except for other CIP initiatives
• Clarifying that the tax grant is specific to the municipal portion of property taxes and does not include reimbursing the schoolboard portion of taxes
• Clarifying that the tax increment is only established once, on the first year following the completion and assessment of the uplift
• Requiring applicants to submit TIEG payment requests and required materials by December 31 of the following year for which the TIEG is requested
• Requiring that affordable units be continuously occupied for the 20-year period

Council adopted the Heritage Conservation District (HCD) plans for the ByWard Market and Lowertown West to help conserve cultural heritage resources and manage change within those communities. No changes are proposed to the district boundaries, but the plans provide specific direction according to building type and how a property contributes to the cultural heritage value of its HCD. For the ByWard Market, the plan provides direction to ensure that new development conserves the HCD’s important sense of place by remaining generally low-rise. For Lowertown West, the plan speaks more broadly about height, recognizing the mix of building types and scale. The plan will allow more mid-rise buildings in locations where impacts can be mitigated. Both plans include language to help conserve the spires of the former St. Brigid's Church and Notre Dame Basilica. Council approved a new process for Urban Boundary Expansion Official Plan Applications. An updated Provincial Planning Statement goes into effect on October 20, and allows private landowners to request an urban or village expansion at any time through an Official Plan Amendment application. Such expansions have historically been considered only during an Official Plan update. The next Official Plan update is set to start in 2025. In the interim, prior to the Official Plan update, the City is introducing a new application type and fee. Landowners can apply for an Official Plan amendment at any time for a fee of $1.8 million. The fee has been calculated to ensure cost recovery, reflecting how much it would likely cost the City to review land needs, infrastructure capacity, and location alternatives. The fee would be a graduated to help minimize risk to the industry. At the end of each step, applicants could choose to not proceed. Any unspent fees would be returned. Landowners still have the option to hold until the next Official Plan update in 2025 and participate at no-cost.  Council approved a request from The Sparks Street BIA Board of Management to expand the Business Improvement Area (BIA) boundary. The BIA will expand west to Bay Street, south to Laurier Avenue and east to Metcalfe Street and along the west side of Elgin Street, north of Slater Street. The City Clerk will send out a notice to affected property owners on the intention to expand the BIA. Property owners will have 30 days to provide a copy to each tenant of the property who pay all or part of the annual municipal property taxes. Council will enact a by-law unless the City Clerk receives written objections within 60 days of the notices being mailed, and the objectors represent:

• at least one-third of the taxes levied for purposes of the general local municipality levy on rateable property in all prescribed business property classes in the improvement area
• at least one-third of the taxes levied for purposes of the general local municipality levy on rateable property in all prescribed business property classes in the geographic area the proposed by-law would add to the existing improvement area

Today, Cyril Rogers was announced as the permanent General Manager of Finance and Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer after serving in the role in an interim capacity since January 2023. For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca, call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401) or 613-580-2400 to contact the City using Canada Video Relay Service. You can also connect with us through Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram. Related topics

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