Luca Bucci, the former Chief of Staff to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister, Steve Clark, and now Chief Executive of the Ontario Home Builders Association (OMBA), told "industry leaders" in a state of the union address on 24 April this year that they were now shaping Government policy.

At the home builders' dinner Bucci boasted:

“We helped the government create and implement Bill 23. We employed a province-wide advocacy campaign that we pulled together in five days.

We completed 29 consultations and submissions on Bill 23 in a little over a month.

We have achieved changes in the interest rate treatments for deposits under the Condominium Act.

We have helped expand urban boundaries in Hamilton, Ottawa, in Waterloo region and other areas of the province in the face of incredible opposition. (Applause) Thank you. (Prolonged applause)

We achieved comprehensive changes to development charge regimes.

We ended site plan requirements for sites at ten units or less which is a big win for our small to medium sized members. 

We froze parkland rates on the date that zoning bylaw our site plan application is filed. 

We eliminated public meetings that were unnecessary on issues of draft plan and subdivision and we worked with the government to allow for three residential units as of right on most land zoned for residential development without even a municipal by-law amendment.”

Click “read more” below” for the text of the speech. 

Before joining the OHBA in April 2022, Bucci served as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing from January 2021 until April 2022.  He joined the OBHA when Bob Schickedanz was its President. Schickedanz sold the Greenbelt lands in King to developer Michael Rice for $80M on 15 September 2022. The lands were removed from the Greenbelt on 21 December 2022.

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See also: Timeline: Southlake and the Sale of the Greenbelt lands in King and The new Southlake was planned to be built on Greenbelt land owned by developer Michael Rice and former hospital Board member John Dunlap

Who’s Who

Bob Schickedanz: Former President of the Ontario Home Builders Association and Principal of Schickedanz Bros who sold the Greenbelt land in King on 15 September 2022. 

John Dunlap: the real estate broker acting for Schickedanz and a member of the Southlake Board until September 2022.

Michael Rice: A developer and President of Green Lane Bathurst GP Inc which bought the land.

Luca Bucci: the former Chief of Staff to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing who served from January 2021 until April 2022 when he joined the Ontario Home Builders Association as its Chief Executive.

Steve Clark: The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing who announced on 4 November 2022 that certain specified parcels of Greenbelt land – including the lands in King owned by Rice - would be opened up for development.

Steve Pellegrini: Four term Mayor of King Township who was given a commitment by Michael Rice at an in-person meeting on 1 November 2022 that portions of the Greenbelt land in King would be offered to Southlake Regional Heath Centre for a “nominal fee”. Southlake’s CEO, Arden Krystal, and Vice President, John Marshman, were present.

Luca Bucci:

I would like to use tonight’s address to deliver a very important message. 

A message I think that's important to articulate after being with the association for close to a year.

It's a bit of a provocative message. But I think it's one that we're ready to hear. The model on which the Ontario Home Builders Association is constituted, funded and governed, needs to change to adapt to our new political and membership environment.

The way that we conduct advocacy, while improved over the last year, needs a bit of a refresh. We want to be the powerful authoritative voice for housing and the first choice on housing policy matters for both decision and policy makers alike.

Right now, unfortunately, we are simply one of many stakeholders in a crowded space.

Under the previous government our approach has been defensive, mostly because of the product of the kind of decisions that were coming through, but we measured success by being included in meetings rather than by influencing outcomes.

We focused on what didn't happen rather than what could have happened. Again, all well intended because of the environment that we were in. We had to deal with policies that constrained land supply and driven up costs and created a narrative that labeled our industry as greedy rich developers. And where our members were publicly shamed by the very people who created the problem in the first place.

This left a bit a void. A void that begs the question:

“who will advocate on behalf of our industry?”

And, more importantly. this is a void that remained at a time when the government was transitioning and a friendly government came into play.

I was retained as a CEO of the Ontario Home Builders Association by the hiring committee of the Board of Directors to reposition the association as a fierce advocate and the primary voice of the Ontario home building industry.

I'm happy to tell you that since I joined your association as CEO we've made positive strides that demonstrated that we're heading in the right direction.

We helped the government create and implement Bill 23. We employed a province-wide advocacy campaign that we pulled together in five days.

We completed 29 consultations and submissions on Bill 23 in a little over a month.

We have achieved changes in the interest rate treatments for deposits under the Condominium Act.

We have helped expand urban boundaries in Hamilton, Ottawa, in Waterloo region and other areas of the province in the face of incredible opposition. (Applause) Thank you. (Prolonged applause)

We achieved comprehensive changes to development charge regimes.

We ended site plan requirements for sites at ten units or less which is a big win for our small to medium sized members. 

We froze parkland rates on the date that zoning bylaw our site plan application is filed. 

We eliminated public meetings that were unnecessary on issues of draft plan and subdivision and we worked with the government to allow for three residential units as of right on most land zoned for residential development without even a municipal by-law amendment. (Applause) Thank you.

And recently, as you heard today, we secured more funding for the job ready program (that) we worked with Terry on, to reinstitute the - I'm going to get this wrong but Jenny could you help me here? -  the industry relations team which was just announced a couple weeks ago. 

And recently through Bill 93 we made ground-breaking changes in the provincial policy statement and finally eliminated the growth plan. 

We achieved all this by working in a different, more efficient and collaborative way with our local chapters. But the changes that are necessary to achieve the progress we have made have been difficult - dividing those clamouring for change with those who are content with the status quo.

So on the eve of my first anniversary as CEO of the OHBA I'm saying to the membership that the debate on housing supply and affordability is entering its next phase -  a phase that is going to be even more difficult than it has been thus far.

We are three years away from the next provincial election and, to my provincial government colleagues in the room, our hope is that we continue on the current political direction that we're currently facing on home building issues.

But there may come a time where that might be the case. We've only taken small tentative steps towards creating the association she needs and deserves. And much more needs to be done. We must build one modern, professional, effective association focused on servicing one member with one voice.

We need to build an association that can deliver meaningful change but can also effectively defend the industry against the changes in political direction that are bound to come and be able to do that with all levels of government. 

As an association that uses members and staff resources effectively, while removing duplication, and through an association model that uses the best of its people, knowledge and resources and influence that we have today, in a more effective and efficient way.

We need an association that celebrates where it's appropriate but prioritizes on delivering tangible results for members. This is a type of association that the current situation demands. It's a type of association that are members want and I look forward to leading the association as we work towards delivering it and building a new OHBA.  Thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of your day.

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