This text is part of the special section Municipalities
In August 2022, at the end of the Housing Summit, ten mayors of the province signed a joint declaration to act against the housing crisis, each committing to carrying out a pilot project scale of their city. Between the announcement effect, political standoff, tax issues and sincere desire to fight the housing crisis, what can we say about these projects two years later?
With the housing crisis in full swing in 2022, the mayors of Quebec’s largest cities, welcomed by the mayor of Laval, Stéphane Boyer, and the mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, are committed to carrying out a specific project in their city.
Commitments that are perhaps a little too precise, according to Danielle Pilette, urban planner and associate professor in the Department of Strategy, Social and Environmental Responsibility at ESG-UQAM, who was also present at this summit.
“No doubt these commitments were necessary, but some are very limited and lack ambition,” believes the expert. She cites, for example, the commitment made by Terrebonne, which only affects one sector of the city, or that made by Montreal, which is limited to the Namur-Hippodrome project.
According to her, these commitments are not always representative of real housing needs, but rather respond to the needs of the cities themselves, which will seek increased funding in a given sector. “Indirectly yes, it ends up helping housing, but the priority is more fiscal than social,” says Mme Pilette.
The urban planning expert also sees this as a way for mayors to position themselves on the political spectrum, particularly in the face of the Quebec government, which has often emphasized the responsibility of cities.
What cities can
Municipalities can, however, be ambitious by carrying out projects that apply to all of the sectors they administer, believes Danielle Pilette. After all, they are the ones who know their territory best: they know where the building land is and which will need to be decontaminated, and they are in contact with the population as well as with builders and developers.
To act against the housing crisis, a municipality will therefore be able to “redo its zoning regulations and precisely define which specific types of projects are acceptable in terms of residential integration and, thus, accelerate the process of obtaining permits,” says She.
In this sense, the City of Longueuil’s commitment to “mobilize several levers to promote gentle and differentiated densification on its territory” is particularly relevant, according to the town planner.
The mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, also reports that the regulatory overhaul which aimed in particular to allow the subdivision of housing or the development of accessory dwellings will be adopted before December 31, 2024. In addition to this commitment made in 2022, Longueuil is committed to targets to have 20% non-profit housing in its territory and wishes to tackle real estate speculation.
“The City has a responsibility and it must assume this part of the responsibility,” says the mayor. However, we are one partner among others. It is a jurisdiction that is shared and which primarily falls under the jurisdiction of the Quebec government, but also the federal government. So, this is work that must be done in consultation with all levels of government and all stakeholders, such as the CISSS or community organizations. »
Promote reasoned densification
On the other side of the island of Montreal, the mayor of Laval, Stéphane Boyer, has also initiated regulatory review work to promote reasonable densification of his territory. He also launched several innovative projects, such as the creation of a bank of building land intended for social housing projects.
In 2022, he committed to “working on the establishment of a tax on land speculation in order to finance housing initiatives”, a commitment which materialized in the application of a tax on vacant land allowing the targeting of land available to accommodate construction, but left abandoned.
“Housing is an issue for which there is no easy solution, because the reasons which explain the cost of housing are multiple,” underlines the mayor. It is just as much the interest rate on loans that is decided by the Bank of Canada, the labor shortage, the delays in granting permits or the people who speculate on land. I think that cities can play a role since they have an overall vision of their territory and the way in which it develops. I see myself a lot as a facilitator. »
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