Province Must Ensure Zoning for Transit-Oriented Development
TORONTO, April 23, 2015 /CNW/ - The Ontario Home Builders' Association (OHBA) President Vince Molinaro welcomes the transit and transportation infrastructure investments announced today in the provincial budget. Along with reducing gridlock, these new transit projects should support the province's investment-ready community's initiative and the creation of new housing and employment centres.
"People need better transit options. The province's massive transit investment should support the creation of transit-supported communities across Ontario. Building complete communities along those transit lines makes sense and will provide new housing and employment options and choice where people can live, work and play," said Molinaro.
The next step is for municipalities to support this provincial investment by creating land-use plans that will generate the ridership necessary to support long-term operations for transit infrastructure. As OHBA has recommended in the past, provincial funding should be directly linked to a municipal requirement to immediately update the land-use planning and zoning in those transit corridors. The province must ensure that there are strong municipal requirements to align all transit investment with land-use planning by requiring appropriate density zoning along those corridors.
"The provincial investment in transit is a golden opportunity for municipalities to create investment-ready communities. In the past, municipalities have failed to do that work, leaving developers and builders to fight for appropriate intensification in those transit corridors. It doesn't have to be this way; municipalities must modernize zoning and create transit-supported communities to fully maximize the provincial transit investment announced in today's budget."
The Ontario Home Builders' Association is the voice of the building, land development and professional renovation industry in Ontario representing 4,000 member companies organized into 31 local associations across the province. Our members have built over 700,000 homes in the last ten years in over 500 Ontario communities. The industry contributes over $43 billion to Ontario's economy, employing over 325,000 people across the province.
SOURCE Ontario Home Builders' Association
Image with caption: "Ontario Home Builders' Association (CNW Group/Ontario Home Builders' Association)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150423_C5740_PHOTO_EN_14717.jpg
or to arrange an interview with OHBA CEO Joe Vaccaro please contact Kathryn Segal at 416-443-1545 ext. 223.
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