KAWARTHA LAKES-The City of Kawartha Lakes is looking at adding an additional 2750 affordable housing units over the next ten years through a public/private partnership, according to a presentation at Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting.
Hope Lee, Manager of Housing, presented the targets, noting that the municipality in its role as Service Manager for the City and the County is in the process of refreshing the Housing and Homelessness Plan 2020-2029 and will bring the refreshed plan to Council in November. A committee has created a draft plan, completed public consultations and published a comprehensive needs assessment.
The City says one final consideration to complete the refreshed plan is setting the target for the number of additional affordable units that the City and County will strive to achieve over the next term of the plan (2020-2029). The focus of the targets are on low to moderate income households. There are over 23,000 households in Haliburton and Kawartha Lakes considered as low to moderate income households. This includes households with income at or below $42,100 for renters and at or below $84,600 for owners.
The targets are striving to create housing, both rental and ownership, where the rent or the accommodation costs would not exceed 30% of the gross annual household income for low to moderate income households.
The targets were created by a modelling approach that considers two dozen current and historical variables which paints a picture of what is needed and by when according to City officials.
The targets include a total of 2,750 new rental units created over the next 10 years. Of those, 864 units are targeted to be created by KLH Housing Corp. The balance would come from existing non-profit providers, private market development and through rent supplements to landlords or subsidies such as housing allowances.
Mayor Letham commented, “We know there is great need for new housing. As a Council, we need to find a balance between meeting the targets and remaining affordable for the existing tax base.”
The city is relying on support from all three levels of government to provide funding and policy support in order to achieve it’s targets. The city says it will continue education and provide information for all potential partners in order to help partners understand how they can contribute and help the City and County understand what is standing in the way for partners.
Three different approaches being considered for affordable ownership for low to moderate income families:
- Continue to support homeowner down payment assistance in resale homes. More than 100 owners have been assisted to purchase housing through this program.
- New construction: The City and County will establish policies to ensure that there are some options available where low and/or middle income needs are met. This will be done through a community benefit program and/or the Official Plan.
- Habitat for Humanity: The City and County will actively pursue ownership options with Habitat for Humanity and other similar not for profit organizations to ensure they have the ability to be actively increasing the number of ownership opportunities.
Also proposed is an annual expression of interest process to assess incentives requested by developers and create an overall plan that meets their financial needs while balancing the responsibilities of the municipality along with information sessions each fall.
“What we’re looking at is a model that relies on governments and partners. To date we have had little uptake from partners. We’re committed to doing a better job of inviting partners to the table, and making sure they know what is available to them,” commented Hope Lee.
