Nova Scotia to freeze fees, take keys away from HRM on housing development
Tim Houston’s Conservatives painted Halifax city hall as a contributor to the housing crisis Thursday and introduced legislation to take away some of the municipality’s power to regulate development.
The Houston government introduced a bill with nearly a dozen changes to the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter and the Housing in the Halifax Regional Municipality Act on Thursday. The province said the changes would speed up development approvals, increase housing density and reduce barriers to new projects in HRM.
The bill, that will inevitably be passed by the Conservative majority, will give some developers expedited services, including freezing all municipal permit and development fees. The bill would ease restrictions on floorplan size for highrise buildings and accelerate development approvals. It also gives the housing minister the authority to make decisions on development in HRM without a recommendation from the Executive Panel on Housing or request from the municipality.
Mayor Mike Savage says the province is encroaching on city powers. He said whatever issues there are with the pace of new construction, they are related to a shortage of labour and high interest rates, not foot-dragging by the city.
Houston didn’t respond directly to the mayor’s comments. He wasn’t specific about what HRM is doing wrong, either.
“We have serious issues of housing,” the premier told reporters at Province House.
“This is a time for bold action; this is a time that we’re moving forward. We tabled the bill and there’ll be lots of discussion on the bill.”
The intent is to make sure housing is there for Nova Scotians when they need it, said the premier.
No housing targets are included in the bill.
The premier said solving the housing problem will require partnerships and that developers, the city and the province must work together.
NDP Leader Claudia Chender scoffed at that, saying that the provincial government talks of partnerships “but has unilaterally intruded in a massive way in the jurisdiction and the order of another government, with no notice.
“That’s not partnership, that’s intimidation.”
“This looks like the government is doing something, but it’s not at all clear what effect (the changes being introduced) will have, if any.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill agreed.
“Once again we see Premier Houston taking a lot of control with no plan,” said Churchill. “We don’t know how many starts are going to happen. What’s happening in areas outside HRM? We have a housing crisis from one end of the province to the other and the premier won’t release a housing plan.”
