HAMILTON: The Ontario government is helping to accelerate the creation of safe and affordable housing in Hamilton.
The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing issued a Minister’s Zoning Order, at the request of the City of Hamilton, to speed up the approvals process for 15 units at 350 King St. East, allowing the city to meet the timelines for federal government funding.
“Our government has been clear that we are going to use Minister’s Zoning Orders to help communities get critical local projects, like affordable housing, moving faster,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
“I am proud to respond to the requests made by the City of Hamilton and MPP Donna Skelly to help speed up the approvals required to create this much-needed affordable housing.”
The land-use change will allow residential units to be created on the site, which is currently zoned for commercial use, and help the City meet the terms of a federal funding
agreement to have the new affordable housing created within a year.
“Like many communities across the province, Hamilton is in need of more affordable housing, especially during COVID-19 when we are asking people to stay home and stay safe,” said Donna Skelly, MPP for Flamborough-Glanbrook.
“I was pleased to advocate on behalf of the City of Hamilton so some of our most vulnerable residents can get a roof over their head as quickly as possible.”
Minister’s Zoning Orders have been used to help accelerate the development of several critical projects located outside of the Greenbelt.
This includes thousands of new long-term care beds, hundreds of supportive and affordable housing units, a Made-in-Ontario personal protective equipment facility, and 100 modular supportive housing units in Toronto to house homeless people in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Ensuring low-income and vulnerable residents have good quality and stable housing is a key priority for the City of Hamilton. We are pleased our provincial partners have issued a Minister’s Zoning Order for 350 King Street East to help meet the Rapid Housing Initiative timelines for federal government funding,” said Fred Eisenberger, Mayor of Hamilton. This collaboration between our provincial and federal partners will help advance initiatives underway to support the housing needs of vulnerable members of our community.”
• In 2020, Ontario provided over $24 million in Social Services Relief Funding to the City of Hamilton to help protect the health and safety of vulnerable people and create longer-term housing solutions during COVID-19.
• The Planning Act authorizes the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to make zoning orders for regulating the use of land and the location, use, height, size and spacing of buildings and structures. This zoning order was requested by the City of Hamilton. According to the last annual count, 6,321 households are on the city’s waitlist for subsidized units.