Halifax will not move ahead with a tool that would require affordable housing units in certain new buildings — for now.
On Tuesday, municipal staff brought a report on inclusionary zoning to regional council, nearly three years after a former council voted for the idea in 2023.
The report includes a consultant’s study that examined the local market impacts of requiring a certain percentage of affordable units in new buildings. The group also consulted with private developers and non-profit housing groups.
The study found that inclusionary zoning might be viable in lower-density projects, especially in cheaper wood-framed developments. But, it would not currently work for highrise rental buildings, which have the slimmest profit margins.
Worrying more about builder’s profit margins than unhoused people’s need is sickening.
It’s the fundamental problem of having no public housing construction. If the profits aren’t there, private developers just won’t build them. If we had something like a UK council-housing system, we could just build it and deal with recouping costs through other means or on longer time scales.
