Saskatoon city council votes in favour of housing accelerator fund after two days of contentious debate

Saskatoon city council voted in favour of land use changes as part of the federal government's housing accelerator fund, which could greatly impact how and where homes are built for decades to come.

The vote signals a variety of other zoning changes across the city to access more than $41 million of federal funding intended to rapidly densify many areas of the city.

Following a 12-hour marathon meeting on Thursday which saw nearly 50 speakers both in favour and against the fund, councillors were back at City Hall Friday to ask administration what they were being faced with and vote on the changes.

"I'm not ever rushed into buying a car or buying a house, and I'm not going to be rushed into this," councillor Randy Donauer said. "I realize that $41 million is a lot of money, but I'm not comfortable rushing into an agreement with the federal, with the federal government just to get funding. If they have money for homelessness and affordable housing, they should send it."

The city will be able to access a little more than $41 million dollars distributed over the next several years as part of the 6-4 land use vote, with much of the money going towards affordable housing incentives. Administration said there have been roughly 700 applications for affordable housing builds as part of the first round of funding.

After applying and striking a deal with the federal government in December, councilors heard details were changing as recently as two weeks ago, and because of the changing requirements, the city wouldn't be able to negotiate much beyond its current application, unlike some other major cities who customized their zoning changes.

Some councillors weren't impressed with the federal government delving into municipal matters with such stringent conditions, which the federal government said would be tied to many future projects the city would need funding for.

"It's regrettable that the federal government is holding us hostage or bullying municipalities by having federal funding tied to these zoning changes. This is imposing a solution for a Toronto or Montreal problem in Saskatoon," Donauer said.

"Shame on the federal government for moving the goalposts," councillor Darren Hill said. "And that's what's happened through this entire process."

While nearly all councillors didn't like the circumstances before them, councillor Cynthia Block feared what rejecting the fund would mean for the city and its goals of increasing housing supply.

"If we're not planning for the future in a way that helps us to be affordable, helps us to be safe, helps us to be more efficient, and all of these pieces are connected, then I think we fail future generations," she said.

"Part of our job is making difficult decisions, even when we want the circumstances to be different," councillor Loewen said.

With a deadline of Sept. 30 to make the necessary zoning changes, Mayor Charlie Clark said refusing now and taking the summer to further negotiate wasn't going to work. He was adamant that the proposal before councillors was the best deal the city could get.

What became clear during the more than 18 hours of meetings was the palpable tension and division in the community over the issue.

Rather than taking three years to examine and communicate overhauling zoning changes across the city, administration worked on an expedited timeline and they weren't able to do the usual consultation with residents. Many residents bemoaned the process, lack of input, and lack of available information until the hearing started on Thursday.

Many were worried about the risk the city was taking on if infrastructure could handle such density and many other specifics.

"I heard a lot of people feel yesterday that this community is divided, and that is not a goal or an outcome of this item at all," Clark said. "And as a community to feel like it's homeowners versus people needing housing and those types of things...I do want to acknowledge that it's been a real challenge under these circumstances, but and that is not the goal."

The city's goal is to build 940 housing units over three years with the funding.

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Zoning and land use changes will allow four housing units on any 50-foot lot. Off-street parking requirements will be removed for new developments, and it is the city's preference density be focused most on transit corridors.

Homes on streets along on the eventual bus rapid transit (BRT) lines will be allowed to build up to six storeys tall, with four-storey buildings allowed in any residential area within 250 metres of a BRT line and on arterial or collector streets within 800 metres of BRT lines.

A few people lingering in the gallery late Friday afternoon were in awe of city council's decision and some were disappointed at the city's response to the guidelines of the deal.

"Coercion and panic make for bad decision-making when we're told now and in the future that we're out of time," resident Peggy Scmeiser said. "I hope we can remind ourselves what we've learned about handling peer pressure and responding to those who withhold what we need or want, on the condition that we do things that we would not want to do."