It’s an ambitious project, but one that if successful could really put a dent on housing woes in our community, according to Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison.
He said he’s excited about the possibilities and has been talking to developers to let them know what the Town is offering – free land, the waiver of part or all of the municipal fees associated with such a development as well as the possibility of tax breaks in return for some form of sustainable development that would help house some of this community’s most vulnerable residents. He’s also quick to note that the type of development in mind would not stigmatize those who live there.
Rick Williams, District Commissioner of Community Services, said the approach to social housing is now one of integration, rather than isolation. While building housing projects was a common approach to providing social housing in the past, mixed development is the favoured approach now. That means that a certain number of units could be geared to income but not all. It also means that you could provide housing for various groups not just families, but individuals and seniors as well. According to Williams, the District of Muskoka, which manages this region’s affordable housing portfolio, has approximately 181 families and individuals on a housing subsidy waiting list in the Huntsville area alone. He said the numbers from February indicate that 131 individuals looking for a housing subsidy are single, 36 are seniors and 32 are family units.
Those are the numbers that Aitchison and a housing group at Town Hall are hoping to address by providing free land and other incentives.
All those tools at work and all the municipal fees that have been waived, we think that those numbers add up to make an affordable development or a mixed use development… financially doable to create more affordable units without some need for a capital subsidy from the Feds or the Province Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison
Williams is applauding the Town’s initiative and said the District is willing to bring what it can to the table in terms of capital and rental subsidies as well as other programs it offers to help provide as many initiatives as possible for prospective developers.
A public information session will be hosted today at the council chambers at Town Hall at 6 p.m. to provide more information for those considering partnering with the Town.
When we spoke to the Mayor further about the vision, he threw out some suggestions on the type of development those lands could host but is leaving the specifics up to those who are interested in partnering with the Town to make the project a reality. “We’re looking forward to ideas that perhaps we haven’t thought of that developers will come up with that they could do and we could partner with them on,” he said of the 2.44 hectare property located on Sabrina Park Drive.
The property has a draft of subdivision attached to it. Many years ago the owner planned to put 80 units on those lands, but the plan was not pursued and eventually the municipality took back the lands as a result of tax arrears, explained the Mayor. He said proponents could probably build closer to 100 units on those lands and still meet its zoning requirements.
It’s not clear whether the units would be rentals or owned. Aitchison said it could be a combination of the two. How much of those units would be required to remain below market prices is up for negotiation as is the style of the development. Asked if the developer would manage the development once it is built, Aitchison said: “That’s what I would think. I think that would be the best way to structure a partnership. Because, I mean I’ve said this a million times, if the municipality has to manage it, we’re not good at that. We’re not really set up to be a landlord and we shouldn’t be in that business. But we have an ability to leverage land and fees and partner with people who are good at it to keep those costs down and to make sure it is financially viable and not costing the taxpayer a whole bunch of money.”
Aitchison said Huntsville’s housing group – comprising private individuals, councillors and municipal staff – is hoping to enter into similar partnerships for lands the municipality owns elsewhere. The group will also explore different types of housing such as a community land trust development. It will also examine its existing Official Plan and zoning bylaws to determine whether there are impediments to building more attainable housing in Huntsville.
“A warm bed to sleep in and a roof over your head is the absolute foundation of social integration. You cannot possibly hope to self-actualize and grow as a human being and become a contributing member of society if you don’t have a bed and if you don’t feel secure,” said Aitchison. “I realize it is going to be challenging… but to just hope that some other level of government solves the problem, I’ve learned in 20 years of being around this issue that that’s just not going to work. It’s not enough. It’s never going to be enough. We need to kick-start this and we need to solve the problem.”
Aitchison added that the idea behind such a partnership and solving the need for housing among some of the most vulnerable people in the community is not just an altruistic vision, but a great economic development tool. “I hear regularly from small business owners in Huntsville that they can’t find people to work and they can’t afford to pay people what they would need to pay them to bring them in from other communities because they can’t afford to find a place to live in the Muskoka market. And so they’re struggling. Small business owners are really struggling and they say we need more housing that people can afford.”
He said a partnership like the Town is proposing would be a huge boon to the construction economy as there’ll be more units built. “And that will create some spinoff effect that I think will really generate more activity in market rates as well for resale homes and for rental properties… So I think by government partnering and engaging with the private sector to solve this segment of our housing crisis it actually improves the entire housing market. So that’s good news for people that don’t want to rent to people that are needing affordable rent.”
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As an enormous proponent of Intentional Community, especially for seniors, I’m very sorry I missed this. I would be most willing to work on this committee. Kindly add me to whatever list comes from this first meeting. Well done, all involved!
I wish that we had known about this. Is there a list of interested parties to which we could have our names added ?