Councillors approve program to encourage affordable housing

Developers will soon have incentives to build affordable housing units, but how much that will help solve the housing crisis in Fort Erie remains to be seen.

Councillors approved a proposed affordable housing community improvement plan (CIP) for the town at the February 10 council-in-committee meeting. Coming on the heels of a housing needs assessment study, the program provides three financial incentive programs for various types of projects.

But while councillors approved the plan–with a couple amendments–they continued to stress the need for support from their counterparts at the Region and Queen’s Park.

“Fort Erie really needs affordable housing, but without a commitment from the Region or partners, or the Province this plan could be symbolic rather than impactful,” said Councillor George McDermott.

In fact, it was the question of support from the Region that led to Mayor Wayne Redekop presenting one of his amendments. He feared that, should the Region decide to construct an affordable housing build in town, they could take advantage of Fort Erie’s incentives, only to then fill the units with people from outside the town.

This could potentially happen even though, for the moment, the Region won’t be providing matching financial support for the town’s CIP.

“I’m really not happy about the idea that they can tap into our program that they don’t want to match and then put people from other places in it, in Fort Erie. That doesn’t help our affordable housing problem,” Redekop said.

Redekop’s amendment sought to ensure a Regional affordable housing build in town that used the incentive program would be forced to house at least 50 per cent people local to Fort Erie. There was some hesitancy, with Councillor Ann-Marie Noyes questioning if it was even legal, and Councillor Tom Lewis asking how they could determine what it means to be from Fort Erie.

Still, the amendment passed with staff saying they’ll consider how to implement the mayor’s proposal in their plan’s criteria ahead of it coming back at the bylaw stage.

Two other amendments were passed.

One, again by Redekop, changed the criteria for how the town would deal with projects where a non-profit and for-profit organization are collaborating, and the second, from Councillor Darren Flagg, that suggested anything coming through the Affordable Housing Per Door (APD) grant that exceeded $100,000 would come back to council for approval.

Everything else will remain under delegated authority, allowing staff to make decisions on applications.

The three programs include the APD grant, which from a financial standpoint, is the largest. It provides a lump sum payment for creating new affordable rental or housing units, with payments going up to $20,000 per unit and $500,000 per project.

Other incentives include a grant to help cover the cost of affordable housing studies, and one that offers one-time grants for property owners looking to add an additional apartment unit to an existing home, or within an accessory structure.

The staff report did include a recommendation to send a copy to the Region “with a request that they consider developing a policy or grant program that would provide matching funding for eligible affordable housing projects.”

Stay Informed

Events, offers, contests, and breaking news, all delivered straight to your inbox.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Subscribe