The chairperson of the Development and Heritage Standing Committee is pleased to see over 900 new dwelling units approved at the committee level.
Jim Morrison is reacting to the number after five developments received committee approval on Monday afternoon, totalling 947 units.
Morrison, who is also the ward 10 councillor, also had two developments see committee approval in his ward.
These developments include a six-storey, 58 unit dwelling on Huron Church, two 11-storey dwellings with 308 units total on Clairview Avenue, three six-storey, and two 12-storey dwellings with a total of 447 units on Wyandotte Street, final approval of two buildings with 80 units total on Grand Marais Road, and lastly a six-storey, 54 unit dwelling on the Caboto Club property.
Morrison says this will help address the housing needs locally.
"We need to build 13,000 homes in 10 years, we are approving way above the guidelines that were set for us. As I mentioned to one of the developers, really encouraging them to get the shovels in the ground. They've been stalling a little bit, and rightfully so because we've had high interest rates, and they weren't sure where the rates were going."
He says apartment living will become a bigger factor going forward.
"We have one of the lowest - if not the lowest - number percentage of people living in single family homes compared to other cities. So, you will certainly see a shift in this generation for more multi-residential type living. So, it's a situation where we don't have a lot of land available, and we have a growing community."
He says these developments are mainly along arterial roads.
"Those are the type of roads that have good transit, and in this case along Wyandotte, I mean you've got the Ganatchio Trail for nice active transportation parkland there, certainly good bus service, so these are the places that we've really got to take advantage of those lands where we can build some more density."
Many of the proposed developments at Monday's meeting required zoning amendments to allow for either residential zoning, or for height allowance in specific areas of the city.
All of the developments will need final approval from city council at a later date.