Sutcliffe Pledges 75,000 More Homes, Less Red Tape if Reelected

Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe rolled out a new housing platform on Friday, Sept. 25, promising to approve 75,000 more homes for construction and cut bureaucratic red tape if voters send him back to city hall in the Oct. 26 municipal election.

A three-part plan

Sutcliffe's three-part plan, released Friday, outlines his vision to build more housing by using public land the city already owns and by tightening accountability for developers. He pointed to Ottawa's expected growth as the reason for the push, saying that with the city's population projected to grow by 500,000 people over the next 25 years, "we must do more."

As part of the affordability piece of the plan, Sutcliffe committed to building 10,000 new affordable homes by 2030, funded through a mix of federal, provincial and private money.

City land in play

The plan names specific city-owned properties that would go up for redevelopment competitions: Bayview Yards, Moodie Station (in coordination with the federal government and the National Capital Commission), the Public Works Yard at Tweddle Road and Jeanne-d'Arc Boulevard, 160 Lees Ave. and Hurdman Station. Sutcliffe's plan sets a target of getting shovels in the ground within two years on these public land projects.

Cracking down on stalled approvals

For developers who already have approvals to build but aren't moving on them, Sutcliffe says he will explore options to revoke or amend those building permits and zoning permissions, a move aimed at getting stalled projects off the books and freeing up sites for builders who will actually construct.

He also pledged to reconvene the Housing Innovation Task Force, a group he launched in 2025, so it can continue its work heading into a second term.

Speeding up city hall

On the red tape side, Sutcliffe said he would consult other municipalities already using artificial intelligence in the development review process, with the goal of speeding up approvals while keeping a human-led review in place. He also proposed creating "opportunity zones" by reducing municipal fees on new buildings where doing so will spur the kind of development the city needs.

The plan also floats loosening floor size zoning requirements where it would make housing more affordable, and a consumer protection piece: first-time homebuyer savings would be clearly outlined in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale on new homes, so buyers can see the numbers upfront.

What led here

He's also been pointing to housing starts and a federal housing deal as evidence his approach is working, part of a broader pitch on his business record (ottown's earlier report). His main rival, Kitchissippi councillor Jeff Leiper, has staked out a different housing approach, calling for 1,500 non-profit housing units built every year on city-owned land (ottown's earlier report).

With just over a month until election day, housing has become the defining issue of the mayoral race, and Friday's announcement gives Ottawa voters a clearer look at what a second Sutcliffe term would mean for where and how fast the city builds.

Sources: Yahoo News Canada (Ottawa Citizen/Postmedia)