Barrie councillors tackling affordability with new housing strategy

Barrie city councillors have approved an updated Affordable Housing Strategy (AHS) as they work towards addressing affordability challenges facing residents.

On Wednesday night, councillors gave final approval to a new AHS, which was last updated in 2015.

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Staff have been working with N. Barry Lyons Consulting since early last year to replace the strategy last updated in 2014.

The strategy breaks down ownership affordability into nine different income decile groups. Research has shown that only resales of one-bedroom condo units are affordable for groups below the highest income decile, which is a total household annual income of $216,473.

For rentals, most options were limited to primarily small apartments for anyone under the seventh income decile, which is a total household annual income of $142,475.

Currently, as approved, the strategy recommends nine different actions that the City can take to address affordability concerns in the housing market, some of which are already underway:

• Undertake a comprehensive review of the City's zoning bylaw (underway)
• Update the City's existing incentive program and increase the annual budget
• Use public land to deliver new affordable housing (underway)
• Work towards a decision faster (underway)
• Create a concierge program connecting parties who are interested in partnering to deliver new housing
• Enhance the Simcoe County Secondary Suite Program for Barrie
• Enact a Rental Replacement bylaw to preserve existing rental stock
• Continue shifting the public discourse around growth, density and affordable housing
• Explore potential for inclusionary zoning in Barrie

During initial deliberations, while sitting as general committee on Jan. 10th, many councillors, including the mayor, signalled their wishes to continue engaging with Georgian College to find ways to get other stakeholders involved to build more purpose-built student rentals.

Georgian College has confirmed that it is working on an updated strategy for housing options, which is expected to be released later this spring.

"At Georgian College, we continue to work on our housing strategy, which includes collaboration with the City of Barrie," Suzie Addison-Toor, the vice-president of student success at Georgian College, said in a statement. "This project builds on the work Georgian is already doing to support sustainable housing for students."

In its statement, the College pointed to hiring two housing coordinators, creating a housing portal, and partnering with SpacesShared as efforts already underway to address the housing shortfall.

"I'm excited [Georgian College is] taking it very seriously, and the sooner we move on it, the better," Nuttall said. "We also have to recognize there are demographic changes that have been happening around the students at the college, and so whatever they build needs to fit those demographic requests."

As part of the ongoing work to update the City's zoning bylaw, the strategy has numerous recommendations, including eliminating single-detached-only zoning restrictions and allowing more neighbourhood density. To unlock specific funding opportunities from the Federal government, many cities have had to change zoning to allow for the creation of fourplexes and sixplexes.

While he believes in intensification, the mayor says it has to be done in the right places and believes discourse is already changing amongst the public.

"I think we want to do this in a strategic way that doesn't change the fabric or the culture of the city but does allow for individuals who are seeking to live here, to own homes here, to rent here, to be able to do so at a cost that makes sense and is in line with the incomes that are earned," Nuttall said last week.

The City has also already been working on unlocking public land for affordable housing opportunities, another recommendation in the updated strategy. Nuttall says that currently three parcels have been declared surplus and are going through the rezoning process now. Those include the former police station on Sperling Drive, the H-Block beside the downtown library and a property beside the library branch on Dean Ave.

During initial deliberations, councillors signalled interest in moving quickly by enacting a rental replacement bylaw to protect the low rates offered through existing rental stock. According to the CMHC, 1200 new purpose-built rentals have been completed over the last 20 years, but the City has seen just 350 net new purpose-built rental apartments added to its supply.

City staff will now work on an implementation plan, which is expected to be brought back to council for approval by June.