Montreal says it will move faster on housing

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Frustrated with the length of time it takes to get projects started, the city of Montreal announced Tuesday it will impose a 120-day deadline for boroughs to admit building permits.

The deadline applies to all projects that meet zoning and regulatory norms, and is to be put in place in the coming months, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said.

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She was reacting to a report in La Presse that found waiting times for developers to be issued building permits from the city have dramatically increased, and have doubled in the downtown borough.

“It’s unacceptable for me,” Plante said. “It won’t stay like this.”

The city also aims to accelerate the pace of building social and affordable housing units, and announced a measure to help non-profit housing corporations. A new $3 million find will be set aside over three years to help defray the costs to start up new projects.

The announcements came on the heels of a new report outlining the goals for housing developments for the next decade and a half. The report by a working group studying affordable housing has targeted 60,000 affordable and social housing units to be built within 10 years and for social and affordable housing to make up roughly 20 per cent of the city’s housing stock by 2050.

This report will be updated.

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