On behalf of SmartCentres,…

On behalf of SmartCentres, please find enclosed comments on Mississauga's New Official Plan. We ask that the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Planning consider these as they undertake their review and final approval.

Overview

The New OP would require any redevelopment to set aside 10% of the residential gross floor area (GFA) as affordable rental housing for a period of 25 years. While SmartCentres is committed to the delivery of a mix of housing types and tenures on these sites, the specific policies present numerous challenges.

- Mandating affordable housing through site-specific Official Plan policies outside of PMTSAs and in the absence of an IZ framework is inconsistent with the Planning Act.
- The special site policies greatly exceed the City of Mississauga's overarching Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) policies.
- The proposed special site policies exceed the Province's recently introduced cap on IZ that applies within Protected Major Transit Station Areas (PMTSAs) through Bill 17 (Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025).
- The City's proposed quantum (10%) and tenure (rental) of affordable housing for 25 years has not been studied or justified from a market or economic viability perspective.
- Based on our review, these two SmartCentres sites are the only locations outside of IZ areas where specific affordable housing requirements and tenures have been established.
- The future PMTSA boundary delineation has to been studied; and it is, therefore, unreasonable to subject the entirety of both sites to affordable housing requirements.

Please see requested amendments to Site 1 (SmartCentres Meadowvale) and Site 2 (1100 Burnhamthorpe) in the enclosed comments.