The County of Simcoe recently released its ninth annual report card on its goals to create affordable housing in the region and is giving itself an A+.
The goal of the program — titled Housing Our Future: 2022 Annual Report — was to measure and evaluate the implementation of recommendations contained in the county’s Our Community 10-Year Affordable Housing and Homelessness Prevention Strategy, which set a minimum goal of 2,685 new affordable housing units between 2014 and 2024. This was a goal which the county not only met, but says it exceeded one year ahead of schedule.
As of Dec. 31, 2022, the county says 2,775 new affordable homes had been created across the region since 2014. The report card also highlights other targets and goals achieved as part of the larger 10-year strategy.
“When we decided on and began our affordable housing and homelessness prevention strategy nine years ago, county council knew that the homes we were creating would change lives and futures," Warden Basil Clarke stated in a release. "Since the implementation of the strategy, we have kept those lives and futures in mind as we invested heavily in housing for our communities.
"I am confident that we have momentum and I’m excited for what we will create in the future,” he added.
Highlights of the Housing Our Future: 2022 Annual Report include:
- Creation of 244 new homes in 2022, exceeding the original target of 2,685 new affordable homes by 2024
- Distribution of $1.29 million in rent supplement/housing allowance subsidies
- Distribution of $91,000 in affordable home ownership down-payment supports
- Direct funding of $650,000 under the Municipal Secondary Suites program
- Distribution of $300,000 of federal and provincial Secondary Suites funding and an additional $200,000 to address urgent home repairs through the Ontario Renovates Program
- Provided $376,724 in Housing Retention Program for eviction prevention
- Continued progress on affordable housing construction projects, including 130 units in Orillia and 50 units in Bradford West Gwillimbury
- $2.5 million in funding from the province of Ontario toward the county’s creation of 14 units of supportive housing at 77 Tiffin St., in Barrie, for people with mental health and addiction challenges, people with disabilities, as well as those who are homeless, with the Busby Centre and the Elizabeth Fry Society providing support services
- Supported adding six new modular supportive housing units at Lucy’s Place on Essa Road in partnership with Redwood Park Communities, Busby Centre, Community Builders, and Northern Shield Development
- Completion of a four-bed addition to the transitional housing facility for youth operated by Home Horizon in Collingwood, developed with Provincial Social Services Relief (SSRF) funding.
Funding for the affordable housing strategy comes from a variety of sources, including the County of Simcoe, the cities of Barrie and Orillia, and the federal and provincial governments.
County of Simcoe planning staff, in partnership with the planning staff at the City of Orillia, are in the midst of preparing a Housing Attainable Supply Action Plan (Housing ASAP). It is intended to identify strategies and tools that can be implemented by the county, the City of Orillia and lower-tier municipalities in the next five years to increase the supply of attainable housing provided by the private market, according to Kristin Pechkovsky, one of the county’s planning program supervisors, in an update to council on the county’s Housing Attainable Supply Action Plan Project.
The recommended plan will provide direction and options to the county, as well as municipalities, that will result in a diverse mix of housing options and densities to meet market demand, as well as affordable housing needs of current and future residents, she stated.
The project is expected to be complete in early 2024.
Additional housing programs are underway at the county level as part of the ‘Building Up’ communication strategy, Pechkovsky noted.
“Firstly, the Homelessness System Review seeks to find ways to better service people impacted by poverty and homelessness through strong community partnerships," she said. "Secondly, the Simcoe County Housing Corporation master plan is a multi-year plan to sustain and expand the county’s affordable housing system through repairs, new construction, support, and improved efficiencies."
This strategy will tie all the county housing programs together, she noted.
“Having housing that is within reach of working individuals and families is a primary focus across Ontario," Pechkovsky said. "Increasing the supply of affordably priced housing is one way to assist in this housing crisis, although it will not solve the housing affordability issue on its own.”
The objectives of the project will focus on the attainability of market housing and the missing middle, the factors impacting attainability, and the causes and effects of creating effective housing tools, she added.
