First meeting of Housing Innovation Task Force

The City of Ottawa’s new Housing Innovation Task Force met today, for the first time, at Bayview Yards. The Task Force brings together experts from the development industry and the City to devise new ways to help build more housing, faster and more affordably. The objectives of the Task Force are to provide ideas, advice and expertise about new and innovative ways to: 

• Make development approvals and processes faster and more efficient

• Find policy incentives for housing development. 

• Find ways to use publicly-owned lands to increase housing supply. 

• Collaborate with federal and provincial governments to support housing initiatives.

The Task Force will be co-chaired by Brendan McGuinty of the Ottawa Board of Trade and Debbie Stewart, General Manager of the City’s Strategic Initiatives Department. Members of the Task Force were selected to ensure broad representation of the development industry, including affordable housing representation. Members of the Task Force include:

• Jen Arbuckle, Building Owners and Managers Association
• Melissa Cote, Taggart Group
• Neil Malhotra, Claridge Homes
• Murray Chown, Novatech Engineering Consultants
• Cliff Youdale, Ottawa Community Housing Corporation
• Mary Jarvis, Canada Lands Corporation
• Kevin Murphy, Mattamy Homes
• Miguel Tremblay, Fotenn Planning
• Barry Hobin, Hobin Architecture Inc. 

The Task Force will meet regularly over the coming months. An internal working group of City staff will work with the Task Force to provide support and answer questions. City staff will report back to a joint meeting of the Planning and Housing Committee and the Finance and Corporate Services Committee later this year with recommendations.