City of Ottawa at 30 per cent of target for 15,100 building permits issued in 2023, report says

A new home is built in a housing development in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The city of Ottawa will not fulfill its pledge to issue 15,100 building permits a year unless there are "supportive economic conditions" and supports from other stakeholders, according to city staff.

Earlier this year, council endorsed a 'municipal housing pledge,' with strategies to encourage construction of 151,000 new homes across Ottawa by 2031. The Ontario government assigned Ottawa its target as part of a provincial plan to support construction of 1.5 million new homes.

A new report for the city of Ottawa says the city granted land use permissions and development applications for 16,237 new dwellings in the first six months of the year, and issued building permits for 4,514 net new dwellings.

Staff say while Ottawa is "fulfilling its role" to the annual 15,100 target by "providing ample opportunities to issue building permits" for new homes, the city was only 30 per cent to its target for issuing building permits through the January to June period.

"Fulfilling Ottawa’s municipal housing pledge of issuing 15,100 building permits annually will require additional contributions from other stakeholders and supportive economic conditions to build this many houses," staff say in the report for the Planning Committee meeting on Sept. 20.

The report, signed by acting director of economic development and long-range planning David Wise, did not say what "additional contributions" are required from other stakeholders to increase the number of permits issued.

Of the 4,514 building permits issued in Ottawa during the first six months of the year, 3,327 permits were for apartments, 807 for row houses, 53 for semi-detached homes and 327 for single-family homes.

A look at the city of Ottawa's residential dwelling approval pipeline for the first six months of 2023. (City of Ottawa report)

The report says there were 3,314 housing starts in the first six months of 2023, and 4,107 homes were completed.

The municipal housing pledge supported by Council in March says the city will do the following to help Ontario reach the 1.5 million new home target:

• Work with industry partners to ensure approvals for 151,000 shovel-ready homes by 2031 
• Permit a wider diversity of housing types, densities and occupancy arrangements 
• Deliver supportive infrastructure and services
• Partner with senior levels of government as well as with housing providers and agencies to access available funding and build more affordable housing 
• Streamline approvals to move from concept to construction faster, including the development of a more permissive and clear new Zoning Bylaw 

Council will vote Wednesday on allocating $66 million to support affordable housing projects in Ottawa.

The Planning Committee will vote Sept. 20 on plans to build two high-rise apartment buildings on Carling Avenue across from the Central Experimental Farm and a nine-storey apartment building on Lisgar Street.  Councillors will also vote on a zoning bylaw amendment to rezone lands on March Road for mixed use development, with plans calling for residential and commercial buildings ranging from six to 30 storeys and 2,100 residential units.