On November 22, the City will mark National Housing Day, a day that recognizes the important work by housing partners across Canada to improve access to housing for all.
Housing affordability continues to be a major issue in Mississauga. The average price of a single-detached home is $1.5 million and the average monthly rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is approximately $3,000. The City is working to tackle the issue by implementing Growing Mississauga, our action plan for new housing.
“National Housing Day provides an opportunity to reflect on housing affordability in our City,” said Acting Mayor and Ward 3 Councillor Chris Fonseca. “As a municipality, we’ve made progress in protecting rental stock and requiring more affordable units, but there is more work to do. We are committed to using all the tools we have – and working with all of our partners – to make Mississauga a place that everyone can afford to call home.”
City taking action on housing
The City’s housing plan includes a number of actions to increase the supply of housing and to help improve affordability. Here are some of the actions the City is taking right now to get more housing built:
- Increasing missing middle housing in residential neighbourhoods by allowing more housing types such as triplexes, fourplexes, garden suites and garage conversions to be built without special zoning permissions
- Creating opportunities for homes in new mixed-use, transit-friendly communities
- Overhauling the City’s development application review processes to streamline and expedite approvals
To help make housing more affordable, the City is:
- Rolling out the City’s affordable rental incentive program
- Working with the province to ensure rental housing is protected and expanded
- Continuing to negotiate affordable units through the development application process
- Implementing our new Inclusionary Zoning policy which requires affordable housing units in new developments in major transit station areas
The City is also making it easier to track housing data with the launch of our new online dashboard. As of October 31, the City has:
- Approved 4,946 new residential units (through Official Plan Amendments and Rezoning applications)
- Issued building permits for 3,495 new residential units
Mississauga currently has almost 11,000 new units under construction and more than 33 cranes dotting our skyline.
To learn more about the City’s housing action plan, visit mississauga.ca/housing.
The Peel Region is dissolving and the City of Mississauga is becoming an independent, single-tier municipality by January 1, 2025. This means that there will no longer be a Region of Peel and those services provided by the Region will be delivered by the City of Mississauga.
Why is this important to you as a resident?
Being independent helps puts the needs of Mississauga residents first. It will help us make better decisions and focus on our city exclusively. It will eliminate duplication of services and create efficiencies while providing seamless customer service. This means you will have a single point of contact for all municipal services.
We remain committed to exceptional customer service, transparency and a seamless transition. By focusing on Mississauga specifically, we can better address the unique challenges and opportunities we face as a growing city and invest in the things that matter most to our community, without interference. The City currently provides 60% of the funding to the Region. Your property tax dollars will no longer be sent to another level of government, but will stay right here, in Mississauga.
The City is working closely with the province’s Transition Board during this process. As the Transition Board makes decisions, more information will be shared with Council and residents in the upcoming weeks and months. You can stay up to date at Mississauga.ca/OurCityOurFuture
From pumpkin patches to apple picking, cool weather and cozy sweaters, Fall is one of our favourite seasons! It’s also the time of harvest, when food and crops are gathered, picked and stored for winter months.
During the season, you can harvest and enjoy in-season fruits (raspberries, blackberries, apples, pumpkins and pears), vegetables (squash, carrots, zucchini, potatoes, eggplant, corn and beans) and herbs (basil, chives, dill and parsley).
Nothing tastes better than homegrown produce! If you’re interested in growing your own vegetable or herb garden, start with what you’re interested in growing, determine how big of a space you have to plant and do a little research about the best approach and timing.
Every October, Children’s Aid Societies across Ontario raise awareness about the important role that individuals and communities play in supporting vulnerable children, youth, and families through the provincial Dress Purple Day campaign.
Learn more at peelcas.org/DressPurple
#IDressPurpleBecause
The Digital Main Street (DMS) program continues to support brick-and-mortar small businesses in Mississauga. Through a Digital Main Street grant awarded (to the City) by FedDev Ontario and the Province of Ontario, in partnership with the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) and the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA), the City of Mississauga is proud to be part of providing the Digital Main Street program.
In the past, the Digital Main Street initiative has helped more than 15,000 main street small businesses across Ontario build greater resilience and increase their revenues. The Digital Main Street initiative is also part of Mississauga’s Economic Recovery Plan that outlines opportunities to help the Mississauga business community build back to better.
What is Digital Main Street (DMS)?
Digital Main Street is a program that helps brick-and-mortar businesses achieve their digital transformation goals. This program is built around an online learning platform, structured training programs, and our Digital Service Squad, a team of digital experts who help brick-and-mortar businesses grow and manage their operations through digital tools and technologies.
DIGITAL SERVICE SQUAD
Free Digital Help is Here!
Mississauga’s Digital Service Squad (DSS) is here to help your business achieve your digital transformation by building your online brand, helping to market and sell your products and/or services online, and to be competitive globally all through the use of digital tools and technologies.
Mississauga is home to over 90,000 small businesses. Our digital specialists work directly with your business to review your digital footprint and provide guidance and support through digital tools and technologies.
Our DSS can provide one-on-one assistance with:
- Completing a Digital Assessment of your business
- Help complete the Digital Transformation Grant application ($2,500)
- Provide you with a free 360 degree image of your place of business. (value: $300)
- Teach owners how to enhance their existing web presence through tools such as Google My Business, social media, e-commerce, etc.
- Provide guidance, resources, and recommendations on growing digitally.
Do you run a restaurant or have you visited a local patio this summer? If so, the City would like your input on making outdoor seasonal patios an ongoing part of the restaurant scene in Mississauga.
In 2020, City Council gave the green light for a temporary seasonal patio program to help support businesses and bring life to our streets during the challenging times of the pandemic. Since then, these spaces have helped bring vibrancy and energy to our city.
With the temporary program set to expire, City staff are working on by-law updates to ensure outdoor seasonal patios continue to be an option for the restaurants that want to offer them.
Staff are seeking input on:
- Suggestions for improving the patio experience in your community
- Improvements to the outdoor patio regulations
- Streamlining the patio application process
- Insights on the new Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario protocol for extending patio liquor licences
Staff will bring a report to Council with the final zoning by-law recommendations later this year. Once approved, the new by-law will take effect on January 1, 2024
We want to hear from you
City staff are looking for comments from the restaurant industry, business groups and local residents to help inform the by-law. There are several different ways to learn more and share your feedback.
- Survey: Complete our Beyond Indoor Dining online survey from now until October 6.
- On-demand information session: Watch our recorded information session starting September 26 and share comments with our team.
- Industry information session: Members of the restaurant and business community are welcome to register for our industry information session on October 3, 2023 from 10am – noon.
Visit the City’s Beyond Indoor Dining online engagement site for more details and to sign up for project updates.
Background
Council approved a temporary patio program to help the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. It allows restaurants, convenience restaurants and take-out restaurants to have patios within municipal right-of-ways, municipal parking lots or in parking areas on private properties.
Council approved a temporary by-law for the program in June 2020. In November 2021, Council approved an extension to the by-law through December 31, 2023.
During a garbage exemption period:
- There is no maximum amount of acceptable garbage you can put on the curb.
- Garbage bag tags are not required.
- Extra garbage is collected only on your garbage collection day, not on your recycling collection day.
To find your garbage exemption day:
- Check your collection calendar.
- Sign up to receive free weekly collection reminders by email, text message, or phone call.
To be picked up, an extra garbage bag cannot:
- Weigh more than 20 kg (44 lbs).
- Be larger than 66 cm (26 in) wide and 90 cm (35 in) high.
- Be smaller than 30 cm (12 in) wide and 30 cm (12 in) high.
Check the list of acceptable items, and other important details at peelregion.ca/waste.