Play fair

Northdale residents cry foul over city’s proposed rental licensing policy

By Greg MacDonald, Chronicle Staff
News
Aug 12, 2009


The city needs to reconsider a proposed rental housing bylaw to give fair value to all properties in Northdale, according to residents of the neighbourhood.
At a special meeting last Thursday, residents of the student-dominated community tore into city staff, the mayor and ward Coun. Jan d’Ailly about a plan that could require the owners of any rental units in the city to have a licence.
Staff is considering licensing landlords or properties, either in one section of Waterloo or the city as a whole.
One of the bylaw options the city is exploring is minimum separation — essentially limiting the number of rental units allowed on a block by requiring a certain distance between rentals.
But permanent residents in the neighbourhood fear that will mean that the houses that are already rentals will be given preference for licensing.
The city currently issues lodging house licences, which restrict the number of rental bedrooms allowed in a home.
That licence, however, does not prevent unlicensed homeowners from renting out their homes.
Ken Munson, who lives on Albert Street, said his house doesn’t have the same value as one that has a lodging house licence.
He feels that extending a new licensing program could only widen the gap in home values in Northdale.
“We need to create a level playing field for the small number of us who are still remaining,” Munson said, motioning to the 25 residents gathered in council chambers.
A better solution might be to upzone the neighbourhood, which would level property values since high-density developments could be built on any site, he said.
“I don’t know of any other neighbourhood in this situation that hasn’t been rezoned,” Munson said.
Residents have been calling for rezoning for upwards of two years and have been blocked out, said Paul Ellingham, who lives on Hemlock Street.
“These houses are about 1,000 square feet. They don’t work for families and they don’t work for students. Who are they for?” said Ellingham, who is a chaplain at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo.
“Why does the city not want to rezone this area? There seems to be a wall.”
The city has different plans for the neighbourhood. Council has a vision for a diverse and low-density community in Northdale, said Scott Nevin, director of policy planning.
If it comes at the cost of current residents’ property values, so be it.
“The city is not in the business of providing someone value for their property,” Nevin said.
He cited the city’s height and density and nodes and corridors policies as pieces that would help solve the problem in Northdale.
The plan is to draw renters out of the neighbourhoods and into higher-density forms of housing, opening the neighbourhood back up for families, young professionals and seniors.
“We have a plan. We’re only four years in, so it’s hard to judge the progress,” he said.
That might be hard to do given the concentration of rental housing in the neighbourhood, said Dave Novis, a landlord who owns 14 properties in the neighbourhood.
He sees the licensing program as a cash grab and thinks the city should can the proposal.
Novis called the licence a tax that would only make renting less affordable.
“It’s kind of funny that the residents and landlords agree on something. Usually it’s landlords versus residents or vice versa,” Novis said.
D’Ailly said the concerns were heard loud and clear and stressed no decisions had been made yet.
“It’s a tough one, it really is tough. We need a solution,” he said. “We’re all frustrated but it’s time to move forward.”
Council will deliberate on implementing a bylaw in the fall. D’Ailly will host another meeting for Northdale residents in early October.