Huntsville spends $500K to facilitate donating land for affordable housing

A new communication tower will be replaced to allow for 160 new homes

Huntsville Council agreed to replace the communication tower on Florence Street, in the July 28, 2025, meeting.

Last December staff were directed to proceed with a Geo Technical Survey for a self-supporting communication tower and to report back.

They were also instructed to communicate with the Muskoka Community Land Trust (MCLT) in January on the land transfer terms and conditions for developing 160 affordable housing units on the property.

Since then, the MCLT have also initiated the background studies necessary for the proposed zoning changes of the land to Urban Residential high density.

IT Manager, Ian Parker, indicated that the tower is located in the centre of the property and occupies a large portion of it, with the guy wires covering the rest of the land. He said this won’t be the case with the new tower.

He added that the current tower is also 60 years old and is “past the best before date,” so a replacement is inevitable.

The cost of the replacement tower is estimated at $500,000, which is $200,000 more than what was previously discussed with vendors, and will be funded from the IT Reserve, and “added to the 2025 Capital Project list,” according to Parker.

Councillor, Cory Clarke, expressed concern about the cost to replace the tower and inquired about whether the land can be transferred to the MCLT first with the understanding that they will replace the tower before the building begins.

He added, “I’m not very excited about donating a piece of land that’s going to cost us $500,000 to donate it.”

Director of Development Services, Kirstin Maxwell, advised that staff have had discussions about transferring a portion of land before dealing with the tower, however, decided “it’s better to deal with the tower,” first.

Council members agreed that it’s better to deal with the tower now, rather than delay the development of the affordable housing, however, expressed concerns about the deficit in the IT Reserve and asked where the money will come from.

Staff advised that it will come from an “IT line of credit.” They explained that they’re borrowing from other reserves to cover the costs, therefore, they need to increase IT funding to manage the deficit moving forward.

Clarke expressed concern about doing “things to the benefit of the land trust.” He said, “I understand the importance of affordable units, but I just feel like we’re being backed into a corner… Maybe this deal doesn’t make sense.”

Councillor, Helena Renwick, emphasized that the cost of the tower will deplete the IT reserve, which is already in arrears, by an additional $250,000.

Council agreed that waiting to replace the tower will cost them more in the long run and approved the replacement.

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