New Community Improvement Plan will provide incentives to developers to build sustainable affordable housing

RICHMOND HILL – Richmond Hill Council has adopted a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) to help address housing affordability and environmental sustainability.

The CIP is one of nine initiatives Richmond Hill is pursuing as a part of its $31 million Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) agreement with the Canada and Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC). The City has allocated up to $13 million in HAF funds for the initial implementation of the CIP.

The new program will be launched in early 2025 and will provide incentives to both private and non-profit developers to build housing in Richmond Hill that has:

• New rental housing, including rental in mixed-income or mixed-use development projects
• Minimum project size of 11 residential units, with at least five affordable units (based on CIP definition)
• Incentivized units that remain affordable for a minimum of 25 years
• Minimum Silver performance level in the City’s Sustainability Metrics program
• Demonstration of the project’s financial feasibility
• Landowners and developers must be in good standing with the City

The CIP is intended to support the creation of new affordable and sustainably built rental housing by providing incentives that stack with other financing programs available from senior levels of government. While applications for the new CIP open in 2025, the city has begun identifying potential candidates for the program and conversing with local landowners and developers on potential affordable rental housing incentives.

To learn more about the program and the application process, visit RichmondHill.ca/CIP-AHSD. For more details on HAF, visit RichmondHill.ca/HAF.

Quote

“I’m happy Richmond Hill is moving forward with initiatives to help build more housing faster in our city. This CIP program is a good approach and I believe it will incentivize affordable housing and promote the creation of purpose-built rental housing that our community needs. I look forward to the CIP’s launch in early 2025 and the influx of qualified applications.”
– Mayor David West

Quick Facts

• The CIP for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Design aligns with the City’s 2024–2027 Strategic Plan to create livable communities and encourage sustainable development while addressing socio-economic and environmental challenges.
• In 2021, Council endorsed an Affordable Housing Strategy that recommends the implementation of a CIP to incentivize affordable housing and purpose-built rental housing.
• The CIP supports the 2021 Community Energy and Emissions Plan by ensuring affordable housing is designed and operated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the long-term as well as implementing recommendations to provide financial incentives to support greater sustainability scores as part of the updated 2023 Sustainability Metrics Program.