While housing is primarily a function of the District of Muskoka, Huntsville Mayor Nancy Alcock said Town officials have put their thinking hats on to consider everything they could do to try to help get that housing off the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alcock gave credit to Director of Planning Services Kirstin Maxwell for putting together a comprehensive housing action plan, one she and Councillor Scott Morrison provided input on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Housing Action Plan<\/a>, which contains 17 recommendations across all different types of municipal policy areas, was approved by the council in March, and parts of it are slowly being implemented. Maxwell did note that the majority of the recommendations focus on multi-residential housing density development because that is the type of housing expected to address the municipality’s greatest needs: more rental housing, housing for seniors, and those entering the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the changes include a more restrictive policy and a cap on short-term rental accommodations in the municipality. Looking at administrative procedures when it comes to approving multi-residential development to try to speed up the process. Helping those considering adding a secondary unit or two on their property by providing drawings and other information to make it simpler and more cost-effective. Other initiatives include mandating that a certain number of affordable housing units be included in multi-residential developments. Providing tax incentives where those building multi-residential housing could see their property tax increase incrementally, rather than all at once. Another incentive that Huntsville Council, in particular, is pushing the envelope on, but it has not been approved at the District level, said Alcock, is going back to the ability to build on smaller lots in the rural area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She said Huntsville Council is proposing that one-acre lots with a minimum of 60 metres of road frontage be allowed as a right in the rural area of Huntsville. “That used to be our policy (before the OP was updated in 2006), and then we took a complete turn and went to the other extreme. We went from one acre to 4 hectares, that’s quite extreme.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mayor said District Council has to approve the change, and it will be discussed in September. “So that one’s ongoing, and as a council, we’re pretty passionate about that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Alcock and Morrison were asked what one-acre lots would do to the rural character of the municipality. Alcock referred to the character of rural Huntsville as “absolutely critical and there are ways of implementing the policy to ensure that we maintain that character, for example, with setbacks… further into the property, not right at the property line.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alcock also said council can put conditions on approvals, such as that those building a home on a one-acre lot would not be able to build two secondary units on that lot (another initiative that’s fairly new and aimed at increasing rental housing in the community).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Alcock and Coucillor Morrison emphasized that allowing for smaller buildable lots in the rural community would bring the cost down, particularly, for example, for those wanting to create housing for family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “If we don’t allow more density, then we’ll become like the Hamptons, and only the wealthy will be able to afford to live here. I don’t want to see another thousand units in our town, but we don’t have a choice because if we don’t build the units, then people just simply will not be able to live in Huntsville unless they’re rich, and we can’t have that for the next generation,” said Morrison. “So we need to think of the next generation and how we’re going to keep our kids in our town, and that doesn’t happen without density, sadly.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another initiative the municipality has been actively working on is to partner with the private sector to create affordable housing by donating municipal land. A Sabrina Park project did not go as expected, and the adage ‘live and learn’ is certainly one council and municipal staff are taking to the bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alcock is pretty excited, though, about a new initiative to create affordable housing units on Florence Street West with the Muskoka Community Land Trust. The Town has donated the land, the District has supported the project with funding, and the model could be used as an example of what partnering with the not-for-profit sector could look like for other municipalities as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Land Trust would be responsible for building, managing, and maintaining the development, which means it would not fall on the property tax. “We just don’t have that kind of money, but we do have municipal property, so that’s our leverage. So we’re constantly living and learning, and we’re doing things differently, that’s for sure,” said the Mayor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The housing studies that have been done on behalf of the municipality, including its action plan, are also aimed at positioning the municipality favourably when senior levels of government make housing funding announcements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “You can’t even apply for some of the funding unless you have a housing strategy and a housing needs study… so we’re setting ourselves up for funding for sure and we’re also encouraging development that helps the housing crisis, like smaller units where we’ll waive development charges, like allowing fourplexes on certain lots in town,” said Morrison. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Alcock and Morrison believe increasing housing units across the spectrum will help bring housing costs down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “At the end of the day, the only thing that affects housing prices and rental prices is the two forces of supply and demand. We cannot control the demand, because Muskoka is so beautiful and everybody wants to be here. The only thing we can affect is the supply,” said Morrison, adding that you still have to be careful how the lots are developed. “Yes, the identity of Muskoka is huge and we have to protect it but, most importantly, people need to live and there’s employers trying to hire people with good paying jobs and they can’t even take the jobs because they can’t afford to live in our town, so you have to find the balance, the balance is key.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Between 2024 and 2025, the rental housing vacancy rates remained below one per cent in Huntsville. According to the Town’s 2024 Housing Needs Assessment (HNA), if Huntsville were able to add 80 new rental units immediately, it would help ease the strain, provided that an additional 30 units are added annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That same report also notes that to accommodate expected growth, the municipality would need an additional 168 units annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ” [The] HNA gives us the snapshot of existing conditions, with the Growth Strategy identifying the overall number of units (by density, not tenure) needed for anticipated growth over the next 30 years or so,” explained Maxwell. See the chart below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Town’s planning department, in 2024, 83 low-density, 99 medium-density, and 219 high-density residential units were approved (but are not yet necessarily under construction). In the rental market, 39 units were approved, of which ten are guaranteed to be affordable. The number of new rental units approved to date in 2025 is 58, of which 16 will be affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is considered affordable housing?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Huntsville Planning Department, based on the provincial bulletin that was issued as of August 1, 2025, housing for purchase at $363,100 is considered affordable. As for rental housing, a bachelor apartment for $900, a one-bedroom apartment for $1,294, and a two-bedroom apartment at $1,403 are considered affordable. <\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2025\/08\/image001-7-1024x449.png\")
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