Toronto is an egregious offender when it comes to rational development - 1/6 the density of Paris with a fraction of its population. But the Planning and Housing committee is trying:
Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods: Multiplex Study - Proposals Report
Summary
Toronto is expected to grow by a minimum of 700,000 people by 2051 - how these new Torontonians are housed will shape the City for decades to come. In recent years, the City's growth has been focused on transit rich areas such as the Downtown, Centres, and along Avenues, where the supply of apartments has increased significantly. Conversely, the supply of low-rise housing has not kept up with demand and in some cases, the City's low-rise Neighbourhoods have lost population. The City can choose to adopt a more equitable approach to growth across Toronto that sees Neighbourhoods adapting to change, remaining vibrant, and providing more Torontonians the option to live within one of our low-rise communities.
I hesitate to respond to this post as the Bethesda Magazine column that is linked was written by a person with the same surname as our columnist. Perhaps a son or other relation? Anyway, I share the concerns of Michael DeLong but he is unrealistic to think he will find housing in the area he was looking. Prices in this area (I've lived in Montgomery County for 43 years as a renter, homeowner and now condo owner). are high and last year we decided to move out of our house and into a condo. We wanted to live in the same proximity and needed a 3 BR unit which are quite difficult to find. We had a specific price limit and did not want to do a lot of renovations. We got lucky and within three months found the perfect unit. When we sold our house this January we had three offers for well over the asking price. I thought this was astounding given it is a 1955 split level home.
It's instructive to read the comments to Mr. DeLong's Bethesda Magazine article. His $74K income is below the median for this area and yes he was priced out of close in properties. As some noted in their response to Mr. DeLong, the Thrive2050 proposal is highly flawed and was the work of a few staff on the Planning Board. there has been a lot of push back against it. Montgomery County already has an affordable housing law on the books. Any new construction has to have affordable units. On our street there are a lot of 50 year old low rise brick apartment buildings that are slated for redevelopment over the next 13 years. All the new construction will have affordable units (I think 20%). In our old neighborhood, there was a large plot that was developed in to single family homes and two duplexes of affordable housing were built in the development.
Developers want to maximize profits and are building mostly high end units. This goes for both apartments and SF homes.
Toronto is an egregious offender when it comes to rational development - 1/6 the density of Paris with a fraction of its population. But the Planning and Housing committee is trying:
Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods: Multiplex Study - Proposals Report
Summary
Toronto is expected to grow by a minimum of 700,000 people by 2051 - how these new Torontonians are housed will shape the City for decades to come. In recent years, the City's growth has been focused on transit rich areas such as the Downtown, Centres, and along Avenues, where the supply of apartments has increased significantly. Conversely, the supply of low-rise housing has not kept up with demand and in some cases, the City's low-rise Neighbourhoods have lost population. The City can choose to adopt a more equitable approach to growth across Toronto that sees Neighbourhoods adapting to change, remaining vibrant, and providing more Torontonians the option to live within one of our low-rise communities.
Fromhttp://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2022.PH35.3&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
I hesitate to respond to this post as the Bethesda Magazine column that is linked was written by a person with the same surname as our columnist. Perhaps a son or other relation? Anyway, I share the concerns of Michael DeLong but he is unrealistic to think he will find housing in the area he was looking. Prices in this area (I've lived in Montgomery County for 43 years as a renter, homeowner and now condo owner). are high and last year we decided to move out of our house and into a condo. We wanted to live in the same proximity and needed a 3 BR unit which are quite difficult to find. We had a specific price limit and did not want to do a lot of renovations. We got lucky and within three months found the perfect unit. When we sold our house this January we had three offers for well over the asking price. I thought this was astounding given it is a 1955 split level home.
It's instructive to read the comments to Mr. DeLong's Bethesda Magazine article. His $74K income is below the median for this area and yes he was priced out of close in properties. As some noted in their response to Mr. DeLong, the Thrive2050 proposal is highly flawed and was the work of a few staff on the Planning Board. there has been a lot of push back against it. Montgomery County already has an affordable housing law on the books. Any new construction has to have affordable units. On our street there are a lot of 50 year old low rise brick apartment buildings that are slated for redevelopment over the next 13 years. All the new construction will have affordable units (I think 20%). In our old neighborhood, there was a large plot that was developed in to single family homes and two duplexes of affordable housing were built in the development.
Developers want to maximize profits and are building mostly high end units. This goes for both apartments and SF homes.
Berkley is going to have a meeting on Wednesday about this very topic -- I encourage you to join!
https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/legislative-body-meeting-agendas/2022-07-06%20PC%20Agenda%20Packet.pdf
It includes discussion of the housing element, which includes a lot of upzoning decisions for the next ten years or so.