Planning Committee

[danbrotherston]

Looks like Debbie Chapman will be vice-chair of the planning committee. This is a fairly high profile assignment. Paul Singh is chair.

One of the strongest NIMBY voices on council being made vice-chair is concerning, but I have no doubt it was strategic with Singh as chair.

https://twitter.com/debbiechapman1/statu...6609311744

[Joedelay Highhoe]

Oh, good.

[Bytor]

Oh, good.

…they said, sarcastically.

[Bytor]

Reminder about Debbie Chapman's ridiculous assertion that supply and demand has nothing to do with the current housing crisis:

https://www.tiktok.com/@bytor1970/video/...8278816006

And her equally ridiculous call for a moratorium on further DTK development:

https://kitchener.citynews.ca/local-news...wn-5301587

[Joedelay Highhoe]

Maybe council could do something useful and propose a moratorium on rent increases, at least until supply catches up with demand? Oh wait, the delusional professor doesn't think there is a supply issue.

I mean, not everyone can say they personally contributed to the housing crisis. I bet she wears that badge with pride.

[ac3r]

Why the hell would they select Chapman. Good god what a backwards region this can be at times.

[ijmorlan]

Maybe council could do something useful and propose a moratorium on rent increases, at least until supply catches up with demand? Oh wait, the delusional professor doesn't think there is a supply issue.

I mean, not everyone can say they personally contributed to the housing crisis. I bet she wears that badge with pride.

A moratorium on rent increases would tend to prevent supply from catching up with demand. Calling such a proposal useful is a very confusing thing to do.

[Joedelay Highhoe]

Maybe council could do something useful and propose a moratorium on rent increases, at least until supply catches up with demand? Oh wait, the delusional professor doesn't think there is a supply issue.

I mean, not everyone can say they personally contributed to the housing crisis. I bet she wears that badge with pride.

A moratorium on rent increases would tend to prevent supply from catching up with demand. Calling such a proposal useful is a very confusing thing to do.

Don't over think it. Stopping rent increases (especially between tenants) wouldn't correct the lack of housing, but it would help people who are struggling to pay rent. I'm not a city planner, obviously, but I think that helping people is useful. That's my logic. If you helped people by making their lives more affordable, all while increasing supply by other means, maybe the housing crisis might start to reverse its trend? I don't know - you're the expert.

[bravado]

Help people by approving and building more units, now. Anything that makes developers think twice about spending capital is not helping people.

[Rainrider22]

A moratorium on rent increases would tend to prevent supply from catching up with demand. Calling such a proposal useful is a very confusing thing to do.

Don't over think it. Stopping rent increases (especially between tenants) wouldn't correct the lack of housing, but it would help people who are struggling to pay rent. I'm not a city planner, obviously, but I think that helping people is useful. That's my logic. If you helped people by making their lives more affordable, all while increasing supply by other means, maybe the housing crisis might start to reverse its trend? I don't know - you're the expert.

I am curious if you have any rental properties yourself.  It is easy to say rent freeze and help others if you don't have skin in the game.  I am a small time renter and I can say this, the bank gives me no credit for saving renters money when they want their money for the mortgage.  The city gives me no credit for saving money and helping others when they want the tax money.   I could go on, I think you get the point.  I have extremely reasonable rates, I am actually losing money, but that is my choice because I am looking at the end game on my investments. Forcing investors/renters into losing money will not create more rental units.

[Joedelay Highhoe]

Nope. I'm one of those millennials who will need 20 years to save for a downpayment (8 years into my career now). I will hopefully have enough saved by the time I'm 45 for my first property, and then I'll only have to work until I'm 70 to pay it off.

[danbrotherston]

Would restricting rents (in any way, we don't have to be as extreme as a complete moratorium) function to reduce development?

Probably...although not in the way described here. A new apartment has to have some initial rent, AFAIK no rent restrictions ever try to limit this amount, so it doesn't actually change the initial profit expectation for any given development. What it does mean is that the rental industry does not track the housing market as closely so long term are the entire industry becomes less profitable, which could mean less financing is available.

But so would a million other factors, and I'd argue that many of those other factors have many orders of magnitude bigger effect (NIMBYism, Zoning, population growth, and macroeconomic factors are probably all 10-20x more important than specific rent restrictions).

And not all factors are fully under our control (i.e., we have limited control on population growth, but complete control over zoning).

But what really matters is...for the factors that we control, what are the costs and benefits and to whom do they accrue.

So yes, rent controls probably would somewhat limit development, but the benefits of those policies accrue to renters who are on average lower income, and the costs accrue towards wealthier landowners.

This is simply the facts.

I'd argue that THIS difference, more than whether it is good policy or not drive the discussion. Yes, most people will always make arguments around development and other things because it's more appealing than "I want more money" (I'm not suggesting anyone here is even thinking this--it doesn't make a strong argument), but the point is, you hear the arguments of "this is bad because" WAY MORE because it is wealthy people who are making those arguments.

And you don't hear much at all about how rent controls benefit people because the people it benefits have far less wealth and power.

So...will it affect development? Probably, some, I don't know how much. Is that the only thing that matters? No, we need to talk about the benefits and costs together, along with the context of all the other policies which control development.

That being said, our local NIMBY Planning vice-chair is probably not against rent control because it helps her advance her theory that the problem is not supply but greed, and while it might make things slightly worse, IMO it would pale in comparison to what she's already done opposing housing in the region.

[Rainrider22]

Nope. I'm one of those millennials who will need 20 years to save for a downpayment (8 years into my career now). I will hopefully have enough saved by the time I'm 45 for my first property, and then I'll only have to work until I'm 70 to pay it off.

I am not a millennial and  I will be paying at 70 still too !!!

[danbrotherston]

Nope. I'm one of those millennials who will need 20 years to save for a downpayment (8 years into my career now). I will hopefully have enough saved by the time I'm 45 for my first property, and then I'll only have to work until I'm 70 to pay it off.

I am not a millennial and  I will be paying at 70 still too !!!

Erm....really?

You just noted you were a landlord.

Honestly, this is pretty tone deaf...do you deny the problems with the housing market that GenZ and Millennials are facing? Do you not understand that the housing market that previous generations faced was fundamentally different from this one?

And frankly....let me ask....how is it possible you won't have paid off a single property with an income and a rental income in your adult life?

[Joedelay Highhoe]

Nope. I'm one of those millennials who will need 20 years to save for a downpayment (8 years into my career now). I will hopefully have enough saved by the time I'm 45 for my first property, and then I'll only have to work until I'm 70 to pay it off.

I am not a millennial and  I will be paying at 70 still too !!!

Have you considered renovicting your tenant and then doubling the rent? That's what most landlords do.