Views on how the housing problems should be resolved were mixed

By Pepper Parr

July 12th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

Nanos, a national polling organization and the Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board, released a report on opions people held about housing issues.

Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman brought it to the attention of Council members and commented on the content at some length.

Sharman points out what densification has come to mean to Burlington: the city is required to be 82% high rise buildings; 12% mid rise and 6% low density. The high rise and mid-rise will be infill because we have had essentially no greenfield land to build on. The Alinea properties did provide some extra green field land.

Were local governments making the right decisions?

RATING LIFE IN THE REGION

Residents of the regions gave the top rating to their community as a place to raise a family (Oakville mean of 8.3 out of 10, Burlington mean of 8.5, Halton Hills mean of 8.2, Milton mean of 7.5), and also gave high ratings to their region’s overall quality of life and as a safe place to live. All regions receive lower grades on being a place to take public transit, with a very poor grade in Halton Hills (mean of 3.4) and Milton (mean of 4.2). The region as a place where one can afford to buy a home scored the lowest (mean of 3.4 overall).

DIRECTION OF THE REGION

Residents of the Towns of Oakville (52%), Halton Hills (54%) and the City of Burlington (53%) are more likely to say the region is moving in the right direction than the wrong direction (35%, 33%, 33% respectively), while residents of Milton are split with 46 per cent who say the Town is moving in the wrong direction and 43 per cent in the right direction. Asked why they have that opinion, residents who think things are moving in the wrong direction mentioned the construction/development and the population growth that they believe is happening too fast (29% each).

REASON THEY LIVE IN THE REGION

Residents most frequently say the main reason they live in their community is because they grew up there and have been there a long time (high of 31% in Halton Hills, low of 21% in the Town of Oakville), or that they like the area and they believe it to be a nice place to live (14% overall). Just over one in ten also mentioned they live in the region because their family/friends live here (13%) or for jobs/work (11%).

PIECE OF ADVICE FOR THE REGION

The most frequent piece of advice residents had for their region was to ensure the City/Town grows at a manageable rate (24% of residents). This was followed by improving public transit and improving infrastructure/ roadways (nine per cent each) and improving traffic (eight per cent).

Key Findings – State of Housing

 HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN THE REGION

A majority of residents from the Towns of Oakville (71%), Milton (70%) and Halton Hill (74%) and the City of Burlington (68%) say housing affordability in their community has worsened or somewhat worsened compared to five years ago. An additional one in ten say it has somewhat worsened (Oakville: 11%, Milton: 10%, Halton Hills: 9%, Burlington: 13%).

PREFERRED HOME TYPES OVERALL

About two thirds of residents of the region report living in a single detached family home (63% overall, 77% in Halton Hills). And additional one in ten say they currently live in a Town house (13%). Asked which type of housing they would want to live in, three quarters say they want to live in a single detached family home (74% overall, 85% in Halton Hills).

PREFERRED HOME TYPE IF DOWNSIZING

Asked which type of housing they would prefer to live in if they were to downsize, residents say they would want to downsize to a smaller single detached home (32% overall, 43% in Halton Hills, 28% in Burlington). Just over one in ten want to downsize to a Townhouse (11%).

SUPPORT FOR BUILDING SECONDARY/GARDEN SUITES

Residents of the region are more likely to support or somewhat support allowing homeowners in their community to build a secondary or garden suite on their property (Oakville: 56%, Halton Hills: 66%, Burlington: 56%) than oppose or somewhat oppose this (Oakville: 28%, Halton Hills: 26%, Burlington: 33%). On the other hand, residents of the Town of Milton have split opinions on this topic (43% support/somewhat support; 42% oppose/somewhat oppose).

PREFERRED APPROACH FOR NEW HOUSING*

Asked which approach they prefer for new housing in Oakville, opinions were shared between having a mix of units being added to existing homes on residential streets and high-rise apartment/condo towers being build around GO stations (32%) and Building high-rise apartment towers around GO Transit Stations and limiting units being added to existing homes (31%). Nearly one quarter prefer adding units to existing homes and limit high-rise apartment towers around GO transit stations (22%).

CONVERTING SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES

One third of residents say single-family homeowners should be able to convert their home into a duplex (34%). This was followed by under one in four who say they should be able to convert their single-family homes into a semidetached home (23%), a triplex (20%), a fourplex (18%) and a Town home (17%). Of note, nearly one third say homeowners should not be able to convert their single-family home in any of the above (32%).