By Kezia Royer-Burkett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The City of Burlington is taking its next steps toward addressing the ongoing housing crisis, as residents recently gathered for a Virtual Public Open House on proposed amendments to the city’s Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP). However, as these new incentives and funding evolve, questions are emerging about how equitable the outcomes will be.
The public session offered a closer look at how Burlington intends to expand housing options while leveraging new funding, including the third installment from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to increase housing supply without placing additional pressure on property taxes.
Last month, city council directed staff to explore ways to broaden incentives that support the creation of new homes. The proposed amendments build on the city’s 2025-approved Affordable Housing CIP, introducing refinements and potential temporary programs designed to accelerate development.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward framed the initiative as both a response to urgent need and a coordinated effort with federal partners. “Together with our federal partners, we’re making progress on creating more affordable housing for our residents,” she said. “With federal funding, we have accelerated housing supply, with more than 1,600 units already permitted, while also ensuring that development aligns with our community’s values and vision for the future, with affordable housing at the right scale in the right location.”
At the core of the city’s strategy is the Community Improvement Plan, a planning tool legislated under Ontario’s Planning Act that allows municipalities to offer financial incentives such as grants and forgivable loans to stimulate development.
City staff explained that Burlington’s CIP is designed to support both private and public sector housing projects by offsetting costs related to land preparation, construction, and rehabilitation. The proposed amendments introduce additional flexibility, including time-limited programs aimed at speeding up housing starts.
Among the initiatives already underway is the Additional Residential Unit (ARU) forgivable loan program, encouraging homeowners to create self-contained secondary units, such as basement apartments or garden suites, within existing properties.
The city is also prioritizing “missing middle” housing, which includes duplexes, triplexes, and low-rise multi-unit buildings. These housing types are seen as a way to gently increase density while maintaining neighbourhood character.
Ward 4 Councillor and Deputy Mayor for Housing Shawna Stolte emphasized the role of the latest HAF funding in advancing these goals.
“This third installment of HAF funding will help us continue to turn our housing strategy into real results,” she said. “By simplifying approvals, enabling housing starts, and supporting affordable housing development, we’re creating the conditions needed to deliver more homes in our community, faster.”
Under its agreement with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Burlington is expected to add 2,724 housing units by the end of 2026, including 1,294 multi-unit homes and 1,047 “missing middle” units. Of those, approximately 228 units are required to be classified as affordable.
While the city’s approach focuses on increasing supply and streamlining development, questions raised during the open house highlighted potential tensions between policy goals and real-world outcomes.
Residents and industry stakeholders asked whether program criteria, such as unit size requirements, might limit participation or increase costs for developers. One person questioned whether existing projects that do not meet the new criteria would be excluded from incentives unless redesigned.
City staff indicated that feedback is still being considered, noting that the goal is to make programs “as permissive as possible” without undermining broader housing objectives.
During the Q&A portion of the session, a resident asked whether new affordable housing developments would be integrated with market-rate units or if the city would consider fully affordable housing developments. City staff responded that the current approach is to encourage mixed developments, but left the door open to both models.
“The expected plans are meant to be a mix within these developments. However, if that happens, we would be open to it and definitely encourage it in the program to allow for the latitude, so it could be either or.”
While that flexibility may support a range of development options, housing experts say the broader impact will depend not just on what is built, but where and how it is integrated into the city.
Dr. Prentiss A. Dantzler, associate professor of sociology at the University of Toronto and founding director of the Housing Justice Lab, cautions that even well-intentioned housing policies can lead to unintended consequences.
“Yes, there’s a real risk that cities can unintentionally deepen divides by concentrating affordable housing in specific areas rather than integrating it into high-value neighbourhoods like downtown cores or waterfronts,” he said. “Where housing is located shapes access to jobs, transit, education, and other amenities.”
Dantzler noted that clustering lower-cost housing in already disadvantaged areas can reinforce patterns of segregation and limit long-term opportunity.
“Housing alone is not enough,” he added. “Complete communities that integrate access to transportation, jobs, healthcare, education, and public spaces are critical for long-term economic mobility and overall quality of life.”
Research continues to show that neighbourhood conditions play a significant role in shaping outcomes, particularly for children.
“Place matters,” Dantzler said, pointing to studies that link access to opportunity-rich neighbourhoods with improved long-term outcomes. “But it’s not just about income mobility, it’s about how people experience their communities day to day. Safety, belonging, and access to amenities all matter.”
He also emphasized the importance of investing in social infrastructure, particularly in historically underserved communities.
“Investing in community centres, business incubators, and culturally relevant services is critical,” he said. “There’s a real risk of entrenching inequality if we continue to get it wrong.”
As the city moves forward, the challenge will be ensuring that speed does not come at the expense of inclusivity and that affordability is not only achieved in numbers, but in lived experience.
The proposed amendments to the Affordable Rental Housing CIP remain under review, with community feedback continuing to shape the final plan.
For many residents, the question is no longer whether Burlington will grow, but how and who stands to benefit or be left behind.
