cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/7083978
Mississauga city council voted down a proposal on Wednesday that would have allowed fourplexes across the city but it decided instead to ask staff to consult on the feasibility of the idea and report back.
In a tie vote, council defeated the motion moved by Ward 2 Coun. Alvin Tedjo and seconded by Ward 5 Coun. Carolyn Parrish. The motion, which aims to address what is widely referred to as the “missing middle” of housing availability, called on the city to allow four units “as of right” in Mississauga. A fourplex is a residential building with four separate dwelling units.
NIMBYS will be the downfall of this country. We don’t need more feasibility studies, we need bold action, ambition, and an inclusive permissive environment.
Canada, like many other places, has tried to balance minority rights with democracy but lately it seems like we’re doing a bad job of it and subsequently failing to address people’s basic needs. Strong mayor powers were supposed to address this but the Bonnie Crombie is missing in action.
This outcome could have been avoided if she had voted to break the tie. It shows how unserious she is about addressing the housing crisis and how terrible she’d be as OLP leader, and maybe premier.
Note on the players involved here:
Alvin Tedjo, the guy pushing for this upzoning, ran for leader of the Ontario Liberal party as a minor also-ran against Del Duca and Coteau in 2020. I do wonder if the Ontario Liberals wouldn’t have been re-minivanned with his presence.
Also, the mayor of Mississauga, Bonnie Crombie, is the front-runner in the current leadership race of the Ontario Liberals.
She did not show up for this vote.
In a statement to CBC News Thursday, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said Ontario’s approach to housing needs an overhaul, which is "why I support implementing all 74 recommendations in the Housing Affordability Taskforce.
Under her leadership, the city of Mississauga released documents loudly lambasting the HATF recommendations she champions in this article, and she personally campaigned against them:
https://twitter.com/BonnieCrombie/status/1507080290602299392
Seems like that’s about 61 storeys wasted. I don’t blame them!
We love our suburbia in Mississauga. 🥲
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The motion, which aims to address what is widely referred to as the “missing middle” of housing availability, called on the city to allow four units “as of right” in Mississauga.
For his part, Tedjo said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the vote is a “set back” but he will continue to push for Mississauga to make changes to its zoning bylaws to address the housing affordability crisis.
Damerla, however, said she approved of the motion to ask staff to study the feasibility of fourplexes in consultation with the city’s housing panel and subject to a public meeting.
Crombie, who is running for leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, said, “It continues to be a major priority of mine to see this motion on fourplexes pass at Mississauga City Council at the earliest opportunity.”
In an Oct. 3 letter to Crombie, Fraser said he needs to ensure that Mississauga is taking steps to address the housing crisis before he makes a decision on the city’s application.
Taking such steps indicated would “put me in a position to approve your application,” Fraser said in the letter, later made public by the minister and members of council.
The original article contains 676 words, the summary contains 196 words. Saved 71%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!