Huntsville General Committee approves Housing Needs Assessment request
Huntsville General Committee approved a Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) request, in the April 24, 2024, meeting.
According to a report by Director of Development Services, Kirstin Maxwell, it was recommended that Council support the proposal to hire a consultant to complete the HNA “to support the development of appropriate housing.”
The budget recommended for the study has been approved at $40,000 maximum, to be funded by the Municipal Accommodation Tax Reserve.
The report adds that housing is a high priority to the Town and the public, as indicated through community engagement during the development of the Strategic Plan.
The challenges the Town faces require the support of various levels of government, and initiatives are in the works to support the housing issues, including by the District of Muskoka with their Muskoka Housing and Homelessness Plan (MHHP) to increase housing in the area.
“To achieve this goal, the Muskoka Affordable Housing Initiative Program (MAHIP) was established to stimulate private sector development of attainable housing through funds grants to developers, builders and landlords,” indicates the report.
Challenges include finding ways to encourage profit driven developers to include attainable housing in their projects.
The HNA will research current and future housing needs of the community, including the various types, sizes, and number of units needed over the next 5 years.
It will also determine the needs and affordability challenges the Town is facing and make recommendations to address them.
Population, growth rates, development activity, demands, and limitations will also be considered in the assessment.
The report adds that data collected from the District will prove helpful for the HNA. “The District of Muskoka is currently working on the update to the Muskoka Growth Strategy, and the data that has been collected for this project can be provided to the HNA consultant for their review and analysis.”
It continues, “Given the current attainable housing crisis, Huntsville has identified the need to investigate what it can do towards ensuring much needed housing is built within the community.”
The assessment will act as a guide for the Town to develop a housing strategy to meet the challenges of the community.
Mayor, Nancy Alcock, expressed the importance of the assessment to receive government funding in the future. She said, “It is a general requirement.”
She added, “Any data is very useful. If it makes us more informed, it’s useful.”
Councillor, Bob Stone, disagreed with the recommendation, indicating they’re already aware of the housing issues. He said, I can’t support another consultant to tell us what we already know.”
Councillor, Cory Clarke, concurred with Stone, expressing concern about the unplanned spending. He said, “As is always the case for me, if you want me to support a spend, then I need to see it in the budget.”
Other members agreed that the assessment is necessary to move forward, as a tool to help them to be informed about ideas, dealing with developers and building projects, and for potential government funding.
Councillor, Scott Morrison said, “We’re almost two years in our term and as a Council we haven’t done much.”
Alcock added that the District is moving forward on projects with the Federal and Provincial government on specific projects where having more data can be helpful.
Deputy Mayor, Dan Armour, concurred. He said, “It definitely sounds like it can set us up for success.”
Once areas such as the community’s needs, priorities, affordability, and the current rental and ownership housing market are determined, the consultant will provide recommendations to address the Town’s challenges.
