By Michelle Diplock, RPP, MCIP, Manager of Planning and Government Relations, West End Home Builders’ Association
Opinion.
Last week, the City of Burlington launched a brand-new committee called “Pipeline to Permit” to examine new ideas that improve the planning process to enable the building of more homes faster for Burlingtonians. The West End Home Builders’ Association (WE HBA) CEO Mike Collins-Williams joined City of Burlington’s Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, Councillor and Deputy Mayor of Housing Shawna Stolte, Councillor and Deputy Mayor for Strategy and Budgets Paul Sharman, Councillor and Deputy Mayor for Business and Red Tape Reduction Kelvin Galbraith, and a broad range of Burlington’s community experts for the inaugural meeting. The current housing crisis Burlington faces necessitates that the development industry and the city sit at the table together, working cooperatively to improve the process of bringing units from Burlington’s development pipeline to the building permit stage.
WE HBA is pleased to have representation alongside other partners within the development industry, non-profit sector, commenting agencies, and other levels of government. Through working together, rather than on opposite sides of the development application counter, we can truly tackle the struggles Burlingtonians are facing with housing attainability in the context of a rapidly growing population.
There have been significant efforts on behalf of the industry and the city to collaborate on responding to our local housing crisis with an all-hands-on-deck approach that underscores the housing emergency we find ourselves in. The Permit to Pipeline Committee will exemplify and solidify the partnerships and relationships Burlington needs to get more homes built faster. Burlington has pledged to build 29,000 more housing units by 2031. Now that we have set that ambitious target, it’s time to get to work.
The Pipeline to Permit Committee hit the ground running. WE HBA introduced the idea of enabling greater financial liquidity for builders and developers by using a modern instrument called “Pay on Demand Surety Bonds.” As an emerging financial tool being adopted across Ontario, Pay on Demand Surety Bonds can unlock millions of dollars of private financial capital for re-investment in new infrastructure and housing projects, provide for more units per development, and accelerate the delivery of housing of all types. At a future Pipeline to Permit Committee meeting, WE HBA will be bringing in surety insurance experts to provide an educational session on how Burlington might be able to use bonds for securing municipal works in new developments. This is potentially a quick win for the Pipeline to Permit Committee that will help developers have greater liquidity in today’s high-interest rate environment.
While WE HBA provided our expertise at the table, we were joined by a broad range of experts from the Burlington community, including Jackie Isada with Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga-Dufferin, Kellie McCormack with Conservation Halton, John Davidson of Halton Region, John Doyle of SolutionStream Performance Improvement Group, Jim Dunn with the Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative, Jason Sheldon with the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), Elisha VanKleef with New Horizon Development Group, and Bianca Steer with Fengate Asset Management.
We look forward to engaging with ideas from other committee members as we all collectively figure out how we are going to build 29,000 new homes over the next decade.
