[homeles_ot-l] Respect housing / human rights warns OMB as it strikes down restrictive Kitchener planning rules

[Lynne Browne]

FYI . . . Important news for homelessness in Ottawa. Please share widely.

 

Lynne Browne

Coordinator, Alliance to End Homelessness (ATEH)

147 Besserer St., 2nd Floor, Ottawa, ON K1N 6A7

Cell 613-513-6647

Office 613-241-7913, ext. 205

www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca <http://www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca/> 

  _____  

From: hhno-on-owner at povnet.org [mailto:hhno-on-owner at povnet.org] On Behalf
Of Michael Shapcott
Sent: January 19, 2010 3:40 PM
To: nhhn-can at povnet.org; hhno-on at povnet.org; sdoh at yorku.ca
Subject: [hhno-on] WI backgrounder: Respect housing / human rights warns OMB
as it strikes down restrictive Kitchener planning rules

 

Equity and human rights are critical components of land use planning,
according to a
<https://www.omb.gov.on.ca/e-decisions/pl050611-jan-14-2010.pdf>
precedent-setting decision by the Ontario Municipal Board in January of 2010
that struck down restrictive Kitchener by-laws. Municipalities are legally
bound by the
<http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90h19_e.ht
m> Ontario Human Rights Code and the
<http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/> Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms when they make planning and zoning decisions, ruled the board. The
Ontario Human Rights Commission, which intervened in the Kitchener case, has
noted that "adequate and affordable housing is a human rights issue" and has
warned in  <http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/issues/housing> recent reports that
discriminatory municipal planning rules can violate the provincial human
rights code.

Housing advocates have long argued that municipal restrictions that limit,
or ban entirely, certain types of housing and services from certain
neighbourhoods can amount to unfair discrimination and a violation of human
rights laws. With its recent decision, the Ontario Municipal Board has ruled
for the first time that municipalities must carefully consider their housing
and human rights obligations before passing planning and zoning bylaws. In
its ruling, the OMB (which is a provincial legal tribunal that hears
planning appeals) has ordered the City of Kitchener to go back to the
drawing board with its planning and zoning rules that sought to  limit the
'concentration' of social and supportive housing and services for people who
are homeless, or people with physical or mental health disabilities in the
Cedar Hill neighbourhood of that city.

The decision itself is complex, and runs for 49 pages. The OMB, through its
legal decisions, sets the basic rules that guide municipalities in their
planning and zoning practices. In the Kitchener decision, the board says
that "decentralizing institutions and fostering a neighbourhood mix" are
legitimate planning goals. But it warns that before municipalities adopt
restrictive measures, they have to consider the equity and rights
obligations imposed by the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

-          Michael

***

 

Michael Shapcott | Director, Affordable Housing and Social Innovation |
Wellesley Institute 

45 Charles St E, Suite 101                    Tel: 416.972.1010 ext 231
Toronto, ON, Canada,  M4Y 1S2           Mobile: 416.605.8316  
E-mail:   michael at wellesleyinstitute.com

 

www.wellesleyinstitute.com

rigorous research. pragmatic policy solutions. social innovation. community
action.

 

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