Mayor Mark Sutcliff: 'We want to build more homes and we want to build them faster'

It’s become tradition for the Greater Ottawa Home Builders'​ Association (GOHBA) to kick off the year with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe speaking to members at their first breakfast event. In an industry where certainty is becoming increasingly rare, it’s one of the few things the crowd can count on.

Some 220 attendees gathered at the Hellenic Banquet Centre for the breakfast, sponsored by family-owned and operated real estate company Regional Group, founded in 1958 by Len Potechin.

“Even if next year I’m no longer the mayor of the nation’s capital, and I’m just the mayor of the capital of the 51st state, I’ll still be here,” Sutcliffe joked, referring to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s proposal for Canada to become its northern state (not to mention Trump’s proposed tariffs and other measures that could do serious damage to our economy).

There’s also volatility within Canada’s political landscape, both at the federal level and, likely soon, at the provincial level as well. “Let’s face it, people buy homes when they’re excited, optimistic, and confident about the future.

“Uncertainty is bad for business.”

The home-building industry is also wrestling with supply chain issues, struggling to hire enough skilled labor, and facing rising construction material costs, the mayor noted. Many of these challenges are beyond the control of both the local industry and of city hall, said Sutcliffe, adding: “But we’re going to work very hard on the things we can control.”

The construction of more homes in Ottawa is “one of our absolute highest priorities this year … We want to build more homes and we want to build them faster.”

The mayor touched on steps taken at city hall to streamline the approval process, including the adding of more resources in the planning department to respond to applications, introducing a team approach so that the applications aren’t slowed down when someone is away or unavailable, and revamping pre-consultations.

In terms of actions city hall can take, he emphasized using city land to build more homes, leading efforts to increase affordable housing, and continuing to advocate for more funding from other levels of government.

City hall isn’t looking to cut development charges at the expense of increasing property taxes, which it aims to keep “as low as possible,” said Sutcliffe. He noted that the city has kept its average increase to below three per cent for the past three years, compared to other cities that have had tax increases of nine or 10 per cent.

“I don’t want to have big property tax increases at a time when residents and business owners like you are already facing significant inflationary pressures.”

The mayor, who spoke so naturally without notes for more than 20 minutes, received a standing ovation, with Steve Gordon, executive chairman of Regional Group, among the first to rise to his feet and applaud. His son, Sender Gordon, president and CEO of the company, delivered brief remarks, reminding GOHBA members how more can be accomplished by working together. “By being here today we’re showing that we want to contribute to the future landscape of the city, creating something that we can all be proud of.”

After a brief Q&A session with the audience, the mayor presented Jason Burggraaf , executive director of GOHBA, with a gift: a toque bearing the Team Ottawa collaborative approach the mayor promotes to tackle issues. Burggraaff proudly wore his toque on stage to deliver his closing remarks.

GOHBA currently has close to 500 members.