We are in a housing crisis, and everyone knows it. Young families cannot find homes they can afford. Seniors looking to downsize have few options. The answer starts with supply, and supply requires something deceptively simple: approved projects actually getting built.

Here is a problem few residents see. A developer applies to build. Staff spend months reviewing the proposal. Council debates it, the community weighs in, and approval is granted. Then nothing happens. The site sits empty for years while the approval is held like an asset, sometimes traded, rarely acted on. The housing we approved never arrives, and the land contributes nothing to the community waiting around it.

I decided Richmond Hill should stop accepting that. In March 2023, I moved to introduce a sunset clause in site-specific zoning bylaws. The principle is straightforward: if an approved planning application fails to begin construction within a specified time period, the approval would be rescinded. Build what you were approved to build, or make way for someone who will.

A sunset clause changes the incentives. Approvals stop being something to bank and start being something to act on. It rewards serious builders and filters out speculation that clogs the pipeline without producing homes.

I was encouraged to see the Province make legislative changes later that year addressing this very issue. When a local motion anticipates provincial reform, it tells you the problem was real, and the thinking was sound. Richmond Hill was ahead of the curve, and I am proud of that.

Approvals do not house families. Construction does. My focus remains on getting shovels in the ground, because a permit gathering dust helps no one, and a growing community cannot wait forever.