Housing Accelerator Fund

• Speed up the development and planning process to make it simpler and faster to get an application approved.
• A more predictable and transparent process to make it easier to work with the City and reduce the need to resubmit applications.

• The Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) will broaden the range and mix of housing around Burlington’s three Go Transit stations (Major Transit Station Areas).
• The CCPS will use as-of-right zoning and site plan permissions to:
  • enable intensification of six or more storeys,
  • turn around development approvals within 45 days and
  • give opportunities to delegate some approvals to City staff.

• This initiative will look at how we can remove policy and regulatory barriers and increase as-of-right permissions. This will allow you to use or develop your property, under certain permissions. The idea is you won’t have to go to a public hearing or get City Council approval.
• We have a no parking minimum pilot focused along Fairview Street, Plains Road and Appleby Line due to these being busy Burlington Transit routes.
• We will encourage and incentivize new additional residential units through the launch of helpful supports in 2025

• The City’s Housing Strategy Housing Needs and Opportunities report highlighted that there are more residents looking to rent in Burlington than there are places to rent.
• A Community Improvement Plan (CIP) is a land use planning tool that allows municipalities like Burlington to provide grants, loans and other incentives to private landowners to help the City meet its housing goals.
• Community Improvement Plan incentives will help you increase the number of units on your property. It will help developers increase the number of units in their projects.

• The new virtual Housing Connections Centre will be a resource to enable taking on housing types not usually found in Burlington, connecting people to programs, resources and partnerships to create new housing opportunities in Burlington.
• New resources will help you build additional residential units and access incentive programs.
• Communication and education materials to enable the creation of new units and welcome new families and residents to the city. This will include how you can create safe additional residential units including costs, obligations, and benefits.

The City will:

• explore tactics, tools and policies to support new partnerships
• come up with innovative ways to optimize land, support economic development and enable affordable housing.

• Assess municipal infrastructure priorities to support housing development, align with regional-level planning and the City’s vision for growth.
• Review development trends to identify infrastructure gaps and opportunities. This review identify phasing, funding and prioritization strategies for short- and long-term infrastructure needs in our work with Halton Region.

Missing middle housing refers to types of multi-unit housing that fit between single-family homes and large apartment buildings in terms of size and density. This includes housing options like garden suites, secondary suites, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, row houses, courtyard homes, and small apartment buildings (up to four stories).

The focus of missing middle housing is on the building's design rather than ownership type or affordability. These homes are typically accessible from the ground level through a street, laneway, or shared access road, making them convenient for residents and visitors alike. Some units might have stairs, but each front door is easy to reach from the outside.

For Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) reporting, affordable housing is defined according to the Provincial Planning Statement from October 20, 2024.

Affordable rental housing meets one of these two conditions:

1. Rent costs no more than 30% of the gross annual income of low- and moderate-income households.
2. Rent is at or below the average market rate for similar units in the municipality.

2024 Affordable Housing Rental Benchmarks:

• Bachelor: $1,192
• 1-bedroom: $1,621
• 2-bedroom: $1,831
• 3+ bedroom: $1,819

These benchmarks help ensure that rental costs remain accessible for households with limited incomes.