WAWA – Over the last few regular council meetings, the municipal leaders and staff have been discussing possible ways to enhance the town's housing stock.
Taking a page from the Ford government’s promise to build 1.5 million homes by 2031 through Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, where municipalities must submit a housing pledge to the province to obtain the $400 million per year funding, council requested that staff to formalize a housing pledge of their own.
Since Bill 23 funding models are directed toward more heavily populated urban centres, the bill does allow for small, rural, and northern communities to access 10 per cent of the Ford government's $1.2 billion investment. However, they are not mandated to submit a housing pledge to access the funding.
“Although small municipalities were exempted from having to set out housing pledges, the mayor and members of the Economic Development and Tourism Advisory Committee thought that it would be very proactive for this council to lead the way in showing that small rural northern communities not only are as important to the province to solve the housing crisis that happens, but we would be paving the way to show the province this municipality's commitment to the building of housing by undertaking a number of actions outlined in the housing pledge,” said CAO Maury O’Neill.
O’Neill said that “the province hasn't really set out any regulations or rules or how this fund is going to be allocated,” but ongoing negotiations between the province and the Association of Municipality of Ontario allow rural communities to have input.
O’Neill added that by signing off on a housing pledge, council shows potential housing developers that raising their housing stock is a notable priority while they are in office, as well as, showing the province their commitment to Ford’s platform promise might sway the government in “achieving a bit greater share of funding.”
The proposed housing pledge states that Wawa can achieve 58 new units by 2031, with an estimate based on the Sault Ste. Marie's per capita house target of 1,000 homes.
“That would mean based on our population of 2,700, we should set a housing target of 58 new homes. And when I say homes, it doesn't mean necessarily new single-family dwellings. It means any type of new residence that a person could live in,” O’Neill said.
The housing pledge also highlights what the municipality can prioritize while applying for additional funds.
For example, the report suggests that council should concentrate on selling off surplus land to housing developers, as well as, supporting new infrastructure projects to make those areas appealing.
O’Neill also suggested council could update the official plan and zoning by-laws to permit a wider range of housing variants with the need for residents to apply for rezoning like nanny flats and secondary units in commercial zones.
At the moment, O’Neill acknowledged that Wawa’s zoning by-laws are outdated which results in permit delays for new various types of builds.
“As a goal and vision for the community, this would be very helpful. Those are some of the actions within the housing pledge that we recommend council consider to demonstrate its commitment to housing being a high priority as you've indicated in the strategic plan,” O’Neill said.
After receiving the report, council will decide to adopt the housing pledge at the next council meeting on Nov. 7.
