Affordable housing CIP will include all of Fort Erie’s urban areas
December 3, 2024 at 3:56 PM
In their ongoing search for new affordable housing options, Fort Erie councillors appear set to leave no stone–or community–unturned.
The town will be taking a broad approach when it considers an affordable housing community improvement plan (CIP) next month.
A necessary first step requires the town to determine where such a plan would be in effect. For the affordable housing CIP, all urban spaces will be included, after councillors approved a staff report requesting just that at the December 2 council-in-committee meeting.
That means projects on properties within the urban boundaries of Douglastown, Stevensville, Fort Erie, Ridgeway, Crystal Beach, and Thunder Bay will all be eligible for benefits outlined in the plan, should councillors ultimately approve the CIP.
“Once we have the CIP in force we would have an incentives program which would be available throughout the town where people could make use of that,” said Anamika Dilwaria, director of planning and development services for the town.
She was responding to a question from Councillor Ann-Marie Noyes regarding the benefits of opening up the CIP to all urban areas. Noyes feared it could “water down” in some way their efforts to build more affordable housing.
However, Dilwaria pointed out that the municipality is also updating its official plan “which would identify the strategic growth areas,” she said.
CIPs attempt to incentivize certain types of building or development.
The proposed affordable housing CIP includes three programs.
One provides lump sum grants based on affordable housing units or projects.
A second program would cover the cost of feasibility studies.
The final considers one-time grants for projects that add an apartment unit to an existing home or within an existing or new detached accessory structure.
At the December 2 meeting, a staff memo responded to a motion passed by council back in June that asked staff to look at a CIP specifically for the Garrison Road commercial corridor from Central Avenue to Pettit Road.
The memo suggested the proposed affordable housing CIP as well as updates to Fort Erie’s official plan will likely do much of the work of a Garrison Road-specific CIP.
Staff expect councillors to consider the draft affordable housing CIP at a meeting in January.
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About The Author
Luke Edwards
Luke Edwards is a longtime Niagara community journalist who has covered a variety of beats, including business, agriculture, the wine industry and politics. When not writing, there's a good chance he can be found at a baseball diamond or curling rink.
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