Even as inflation, taxes and other worries occupy much of his head space, Minto Group CEO Michael Waters says he remains optimistic that industry and government can find solutions if they put their heads together.
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The City of Ottawa spent nearly three years searching for a new planning boss before hiring Marcia Wallace to fill the role last spring. Michael Waters thinks it was worth the wait.
The CEO of Minto Group says Wallace, who previously served as chief administrative officer of the Corporation of the County of Prince Edward, has “done a lot to re-engage” with Ottawa developers as the city tries to pick up the pace of new housing construction.
Waters, whose firm has built more than 100,000 homes since it was founded by the Greenberg family in 1955, has been in charge of Minto for a dozen years. After watching Wallace in action, he says he’s quickly come to appreciate how deftly she has navigated a department with a sprawling mandate that includes everything from approving major housing and commercial developments to overseeing massive infrastructure projects.
“It’s a big ship to turn,” Waters says. “I think she’s done a fantastic job.”
Wallace is Ottawa’s first permanent planning chief since Stephen Willis, who held the position from 2017 to August 2022. Two veteran City of Ottawa employees – Don Herweyer and Vivi Chi – filled the role on an interim basis until Wallace came on board following a lengthy search process.
The job is not for the faint of heart, as Waters knows well. Wallace took over at a critical juncture when governments at all levels were seeking ways to kickstart the homebuilding process and the city was in the midst of crafting a major zoning bylaw.
“Those (planning) folks, in terms of the day-to-day execution, are critical for us as an industry,” he explains. “It’s such a big mandate. If you have people even in acting roles, it’s not quite the same as having a permanent leader.”
From Waters’s perspective, that’s why it was vital for the city to hit the mark with one of its most important new hires in years. So far, he says, it’s a bull’s-eye.
Wallace, he explains, has “brought in a real focus on improving cross-departmental collaboration” during the development approval process, which often involves employees from nearly every corner of City Hall. “It really helped make it much more service-oriented and industry-friendly.”
Under Wallace’s leadership, Waters says, there is now a “much more predictable escalation process” for development applications. The new planning chief has sought input from industry leaders on simplifying approvals for housing developments and shortening timelines for getting shovels in the ground, he adds.
“While the overall staffing levels haven’t changed since her appointment, they’ve made some really important adjustments,” Waters says.
That includes implementing a housing accelerator plan announced last year by Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, who said the changes would make the nation’s capital the most housing-friendly city in Canada.
Council has since approved dozens of measures from the plan, including eliminating 13 studies that builders were previously required to submit with development applications, such as wind studies and shadow analyses, and narrowing the scope of others.
“In some cases, they were completely unnecessary,” Waters says of the studies that were scrapped. “That's really streamlined (the process).”
Also under the new housing acceleration plan, development charges that fund essential infrastructure such as roads and sewers are now deferred until homes are actually occupied, instead of when building permits are issued. In addition, community benefit charges, which help pay for parks and other neighbourhood amenities, have been reduced from four per cent to two per cent of land value and to one per cent for projects near major transit stations.
Waters praised the city for working with developers to find ways to help lower the cost of building new housing projects.
“We’re pleased with the direction they’re headed in,” he says.
