Share any ideas you have with me! Email me at sbondy@essex.ca
Time to Create a Municipal Task Force
Some ideas/suggestions I have to create more attainable and affordable housing in our town.
- Explore more land leased communities like Klie’s Beach/Wildwood and consider ways to expand on places like Klie’s Beach to full capacity.
- Create an Affordable Housing Task force, community experts, leaders, administrative staff, and a councillor or two. Host work shops and look to see what other cities are doing.
- See if it is possible to develop a policy for multi-residential builds that incorporate affordable housing in the site plan approval. For example, in a new build apartment building 5 percent of the apartments have to have rent with is considered affordable. Inclusionary zoning is a planning tool that allows municipalities to require developers to include affordable housing units in residential developments.
- Look at Tiny Home subdivisions.
- Market Secondary Dwelling Units by doing something similar to this below- https://adusearch.ca/
- Create a registry of municipal owned properties to see if there is potential to partner with upper levels of government for shared funding builds. We donate the land, they build the homes.
- Find Geared to Income properties in the town and ensure all repairs are made so that they are rented to full capacity.
- Investigate properties such as the CAW vacant lands in Ward 1 to see how infill development can happen on those properties.
- Look at places where Modular homes can be placed by reviewing zoning bylaws.
- That municipal governments revisit zoning to explore zero-lot-line housing, tiny homes, laneway housing, flex housing, shared housing, and other types of housing that reduce land costs and increase density.
- That municipal governments consider succession management strategies to ensure that they can continue to employ well-qualified building inspectors.
- Create a “New Multi-residential” property tax class for newly constructed multi-residential buildings (seven or more apartment units under single ownership, i.e. rental apartments) that was equal to the “Residential” property class to help stimulate the development of multi-residential housing that can be a form of affordable housing. The “New Multi-residential” property tax class applies for a period of 35 years for any developments that occurred since 1998. After the 35 years is over the properties are taxed at the multi-residential.
- Meet with Upper Levels of Government and not just talk about meeting or send letter. Raise the voice in Essex at the County Level so that people who need housing are not always told to go Windsor. Our people should have a place in our communities.
Short for “Accessory” or “Additional Dwelling Unit”, and also known as second units, accessory apartments, laneway houses, and in-law flats, ADUs are self-contained residential units. Including kitchen and bathroom facilities, these units can exist as stand-alone structures on a residential lot, or as attached/internal to the main residence.
