When it comes to building homes, HRM is stretching approval times unnecessarily. Affordable home construction techniques can reduce cost, and HRM is not allowing the most affordable techniques. HRM is holding up approval of some of the most affordable land in the municipality (some of which have been seeking approval for 9+ years).
HRM’s tight grip on these three variables (approval times, construction techniques, land cost) adds up to higher rents and bigger mortgages that people can’t afford.
If elected Mayor, I will make immediate changes to these three housing variables that are in HRM’s direct control, and within two years, will reduce the cost of new houses by double-digit percentage points so your kids and mine can afford a home. I will create a City Hall that’s biased towards action, one that rewards innovation and problem-solving. I’ve been a rural and urban planner for more than 30 years and I know how to get this done. I will be HRM’s Builder-in-Chief.
We will quickly approve more homes in the right locations across HRM that are lower in cost than what is available on the market right now.
We will use technology, automation, and redirection of human resources to rapidly issue building permits, and speed up response times for questions from applicants.
In exchange for rapid approvals, builders will build homes faster and at a lower price. Builders will also be incentivized to work with non-profit housing providers to create non-market housing units. Working with a non-profit partner won’t make sense on every project, but where it does, we will expect the private sector to work in good faith with our community housing sector. Shovels will be in the ground on an accelerated timeline or the permits and agreements will be revoked.
We will update planning rules to allow for the approval of thousands of new homes using prefabricated, modular, flat-packed, containerized, and mass timber homes to be quickly deployed in HRM.
We will work with the Province of Nova Scotia to update the Building Code to remove barriers to innovative construction techniques.
There have been applications to make low-cost land available for housing for as long as nine years. Approving such land can reduce the cost of a new home by double digits. HRM will approve the low-cost land in these application backlogs.
We will re-establish the Opportunity Sites Task Force (which I created when I was a planner at HRM) to identify serviced and unserviced land for future housing, and work with landowners, municipalities, builders, and government to identify and remove the barriers that have kept housing from being built on that land. This will include analyzing existing buildings in HRM ownership that could be converted into housing.
We will conduct a strategic review of the municipal service boundary, which controls where municipal sewer and water are provided, to determine where strategic expansions are needed.
As Mayor, I will put to work my existing positive relationships with the Province of Nova Scotia, the Government of Canada, and the home building sector in HRM to apply to available substantial housing infrastructure funds to build the sewer, water, roads, sidewalks, and trails necessary to support new housing developments.
Create a help desk to give community housing organizations and smaller developers access to city planners to give them the information and support they need throughout the planning and building process.
Create new self-serve tools to allow smaller-scale projects and community housing organizations to plan their applications quicker and more effectively.
Create a Housing Delivery Team (HDT) of existing staff to coordinate all planning, development and building permit applications. It will be this team’s job to get approvals out the door.
The HDT will track application volumes and timelines, and work closely with the province to remove barriers and unlock opportunities.
Regular Updates: This team will report monthly to the City Council, updating them on progress, challenges, and recommendations to overcome them.