Housing

Ontario’s neighborhoods determine our quality of life and reflect the value we place in our community. Neighborhoods differ in lot sizes, housing types, history, purpose, and environment. Whether rural residential, suburban, historic, or urban, Ontario’s neighborhoods should provide a nurturing environment for all residents to enjoy their lives. Residential neighborhoods should provide quality housing, ample parks and recreational opportunities, tree-lined streets and sidewalks for walking, safety and security, and public facilities and services.

As an established community, Ontario is committed to improving its older neighborhoods. This may be achieved through redevelopment, housing rehabilitation, code enforcement, and neighborhood improvement projects. Ontario will facilitate the development of new neighborhoods consistent with their unique purpose, such as Ontario Ranch (areas south of Riverside Drive), Ontario Airport Metro Center, and other areas. Taken together, Ontario is committed to creating and strengthening neighborhoods to promote a high quality of life for residents.

Bolstered by its International Airport, burgeoning employment sector, the Ontario Ranch, and unparalleled transportation access, Ontario aspires to be the urban center of the Inland Empire. Housing diversity is critical to achieving this goal. Ontario is committed to ensuring the provision of the widest range of housing choices for the varied lifestyles of its residents and future workforce. This includes single-family and multiple-family housing, mixed- and multi-use housing, senior housing, live-work units, and other types of housing opportunities.

Housing production is to be encouraged in a responsible manner that furthers citywide and neighborhood goals. New housing will be creatively designed, sustainable and accessible. Residential and mixed-use growth is strategically directed to the Downtown, corridors, Ontario Airport Metro Center Area, Ontario Ranch, and other areas. By encouraging an adequate supply and diversity of housing, Ontario will accommodate its changing housing needs, support economic prosperity, foster an inclusive community, and become the urban center of the Inland Empire.

The City is committed to facilitating and encouraging the production, maintenance and improvement of housing in a responsible manner. However, various factors may limit the City’s ability to address its housing needs, such as governmental regulations or environmental considerations. Market factors may also affect the feasibility of building housing or the affordability of housing in the community. Moreover, housing goals may at times conflict with the need to promote other important City goals, including open space or the provision of jobs for the region.

Whereas City land use policy and municipal codes provide a regulatory framework for addressing housing, existing regulations cannot address every situation. In order to facilitate the type of development desired and to realize the greatest community benefits, the City’s regulatory framework must be flexible and incentive based. The development review process must be time sensitive, predictable, and thorough. The review process must support long-term community benefits, rather than just short-term gain. Finally, the regulatory framework must contain a broad range of incentives to stimulate desired development and private investment and realize the community features that improve quality of life.

Ontario recognizes the importance of an adequate supply of affordable housing and its importance to the quality of life of residents. Residential developments in the Ontario Ranch and Ontario Airport Metro Center area will provide quality housing opportunities to attract and retain Ontario’s workforce and support Citywide economic development goals. Lower- and moderate-income residents will require homeownership and rental assistance to secure and maintain housing.

Housing prices and rents in Ontario and across the region continue to lead to lower homeownership rates, longer commutes, increased traffic congestion, higher cost burdens, and overcrowding in neighborhoods. Working with partners and the state and federal governments, the City of Ontario is committed to providing a range of housing types and prices affordable to all economic segments of the City and assisting residents and the workforce to secure and maintain housing that is affordable and appropriate to their needs.

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The City of Ontario is home to a large number of people with special housing needs. These special needs may be related to occupation, income, family characteristics, disability, veteran status or other characteristics. Special needs groups include, but are not limited to, seniors, large families with children, people with disabilities, single-parent families, college students, veterans and people who are homeless. Though each group is markedly different, they share the challenge of finding suitable and affordable housing.

Ontario aspires to be the premier city in the Inland Empire. As such, the city’s population will become increasingly diverse, with people of many cultures, backgrounds, family types, ages, and experiences. The housing needs of Ontario’s residents will be equally diverse. Recognizing the contributions of this diversity to the community, Ontario has the opportunity to demonstrate leadership in addressing the housing and support needs of all residents. Ontario is thus committed to creating a community that allows people to live in the City for their entire life, regardless of their special needs.