Affordable Housing: Taking Action
Quick Wins Housing Focused Zoning By-law Amendment Approved!
The Council of the Town of Collingwood approved the Town-wide Zoning By-law Amendment on Monday July 22nd, 2024.
The purpose and effect of the Zoning By-law Amendment is to support the implementation of the Town’s Affordable Housing Master Plan through quick-wins and housing focused regulatory changes to encourage more homes to be built and increased affordability by:
- Permitting up to four dwelling units per residential and rural property;
- Updating the zoning provisions for Additional Residential Units (ARUs);
- Reducing minimum parking requirements for ARUs and apartment buildings.
The By-law will not come into force and effect until the Town's new Official Plan is approved by the County of Simcoe.
All written and oral submissions received in response to the Zoning By-law Amendment were considered in making an informed recommendation and decision, as summarized in Staff Report 2024-17. A Notice of Decision outlining the appeal rights can be found under Project Documents on the right hand side of this page.
Staff Report Advancing to the July 8th Committee of the Whole Meeting
Staff Report P2024-17 is being brought forward and presented to the Committee of the Whole on Monday July 8th. The meeting is set to begin at 2 p.m. and the Agenda and Staff Report can be accessed using this link: https://collingwood.civicweb.net/document/157269/?printPdf=true. The Staff Report and Presentation can be found under Item 14.2.2 on the Agenda.
Although this is not a Statutory Public Meeting, anyone can attend the meeting in person (Council Chambers, 97 Hurontario Street, Collingwood) or virtually by Zoom webinar. For those wishing to attend virtually, a link will be provided on the Council/Committee of the Whole Agenda webpage: http://collingwood.civicweb.net/portal/.
Relevant project materials can be found on the right hand side of this Page under Project Documents.
Please forward any comments, questions or concerns to: cdesouza@collingwood.ca or zoningbylawupdate@collingwood.ca.
Notice of Public Meeting for Municipally Initiated Zoning By-law Amendment
The Town is proceeding with a Municipally initiated Zoning By-law Amendment as one of the recommendations of the Affordable Housing Master Plan.
Please take notice that the Council of the Town of Collingwood will hold a public meeting on Monday June 17, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. during the regular Council meeting to consider the proposed Municipally initiated Zoning By-law Amendment under Section 34 of the Planning Act.
Any members of the public may attend in person (Council Chambers, 97 Hurontario Street, Collingwood) or virtually by Zoom webinar. For those wishing to attend virtually, a link will be provided on the Council/Committee of the Whole agenda page at: collingwood.civicweb.net/portal/. Alternatively, you may subscribe to receive an automatic email with meeting agendas here: collingwood.civicweb.net/portal/subscribe.aspx. Please see the project documents on the right side of this page for reference.
This meeting is an opportunity for you to learn about the proposed changes and express any thoughts or concerns you may have. Your participation and feedback are valuable to us.
Please forward any comments, questions or concerns to: cdesouza@collingwood.ca or zoningbylawupdate@collingwood.ca.
Quick Wins for Affordable Housing Zoning By-law Amendment
On Monday May 13th, the Town and the Affordable Housing Task Force co-hosted a Community Conversation about potential changes to the Town's Zoning By-law that will encourage gentle density by allowing more housing to be built on existing lots and reducing parking requirements for specific residential uses. We heard from almost 50 community members about their thoughts, ideas and solutions for tackling the housing issue in Collingwood.
There are still ways to participate in this initiative! We will be at the Farmer's Market on Saturday May 25th answering questions and providing more information about the changes to the Town's Zoning By-law. A Statutory Public Meeting will be held in June 2024 and more information about this meeting will be provided in the coming weeks.
We also have a Forum open on this Engage Page for you to provide your feedback on the proposed changes. Please scroll down to the bottom of the page and share your thoughts.
Have questions? Email us at zoningbylawupdate@collingwood.ca.
Affordable Housing Community Conversation
Register for Community Conversations Event May 13
We are now in the implementation phase of the Affordable Housing Master Plan. Staff are committed to returning to Council with a prioritized workplan for 2024 and beyond. The workplan represents the Town’s target prioritization and timing based on current resources and competing projects and activities. Stay tuned for this Report to come in May 2024.
In the meantime, staff are pursuing a municipally initiated Housing Focused Zoning By-law Amendment. The Affordable Housing Master Plan (AHMP), completed in November of 2023 recommended several updates to the Zoning By-law. The first stage of these updates is a Housing Focused Zoning By-law Amendment, which was directed by Council through approval of the Master Plan and 2024 budget.
In addition to the incentives offered through the Rapid ADU Deployment Program, this Zoning By-law Amendment seeks to fast-track key AHMP recommendations to implement some quick wins to encourage an increase of housing supply in Collingwood. The purpose of this is to update the rules for Additional Residential Units (ARUs) to consider permitting three and potentially four dwelling units on serviced residential properties, changing parking rules for ARUs and other housing types and discussing other related matters covered under the implementation of the Affordable Housing Master Plan.
The housing issue cannot be solved by any one group alone – it requires a collaborative effort from all of us. That’s why we’re asking you to come together as a community to address this issue.
We want to hear from you! The Town and the Affordable Housing Task Force will be hosting a Community Conversation on Monday May 13th 2024 from 6 – 8 pm in Community Rooms B & C on the Third Floor of the Collingwood Public Library. There will be light snacks and a great discussion about changes to municipal regulations. This is an informal opportunity to express your opinions and help shape the future amendments to zoning.
Register for the community conversation here: https://forms.office.com/r/b3mWPf2geV
Questions? Send an email to: zoningbylawupdate@collingwood.ca
Affordable Housing Master Plan Project Concluded
The Town of Collingwood’s Affordable Housing Master Plan was accepted by Council on November 6, 2023. With this political support we will shift from planning to implementation, with the AHMP guiding our work in affordable housing over the next several years.
We would like to acknowledge everyone who contributed to this milestone, including the expert consulting team at N. Barry Lyon Consultants, the dedicated Affordable Housing Task Force, and the many stakeholders and community members who gave generously of their time and energy to discuss this important issue.
Affordable housing is a complex problem where a multitude of actions are possible. Having a balanced, clear, prioritized and costed strategy ensures that resources can be used effectively on key outcomes rather than spreading efforts across many initiatives, making limited gains in any one area. The AHMP will be our guiding light, encompassing policy, process, regulatory changes, financial approaches, and advocacy initiatives crucial for realizing impactful affordable housing solutions within our community. The cumulation of these efforts will result in what we are all looking for – shovels in the ground and more affordable housing options that are critical to sustaining and supporting our community.
Staff are currently taking action on time-sensitive recommendations and will return to Council early in the new year with a detailed and prioritized work plan for 2024 and beyond.
Complex problems are inherently messy and affordable housing is anything but simple. The housing crisis involves financial, economic, social, and cultural systems that interplay and connect in ways that are challenging to understand and at play out at a variety of scales, locally and globally. The AHMP gives us our best path forward through the noise and chaos, giving us balanced, clear, prioritized actions to take as a municipality, as well as a call to action for other stakeholders in our community.
With an issue this complicated, we know that the road to solutions will not always be smooth, but the AHMP is set up to help us evaluate our efforts over time by measuring results and feeding them back into this evolving document. We will start, course correct where needed, and work our way toward the end goal. We hope you stay engaged and continue to collaborate with us throughout this journey.
As staff develop the workplan to implement the AHMP, there will be future opportunities for stakeholder and community engagement.
Final Affordable Housing Master Plan - October 2023
On October 30, 2023 the Affordable Housing Master Plan was presented to the Town of Collingwood's Committee of the Whole. Watch the meeting here:
The Committee voted on items that impact the 2024 Budget and staff will come back to Council with a workplan for 2024 and a vision for 2025 and beyond, in the new year.
The Town of Collingwood is grateful to all stakeholders and community members who have contributed to the project. Your input was valuable and impacted the content of the Plan that will ensure we have a vibrant, thriving and sustainable community – today and well into the future.
Read the final Affordable Housing Master Plan Report:
What does the Town of Collingwood consider "affordable housing"?
The term "affordable housing" is often used interchangeably with "social housing", but they are two different things. Social housing is coordinated by the County of Simcoe and it is a category that includes public housing, cooperatives, and non-profit providers that receive government funding to assist with rent subsidies and operating and capital costs. The County is generally responsible for planning, funding and managing social housing programs where rents charged are based on income, and provides services for people experiencing homelessness.
Affordable housing is not typically seen as a local municipal issue, however Council and staff believe that action can and should occur at all levels of government, in collaboration with employers, local community groups and the general public.
The Town of Collingwood's affordable housing efforts focuses on households that earn moderate levels of income. (Moderate income refers to households between the 4th and 6th income deciles. The income deciles are specific to household incomes of Collingwood residents.)
- For moderate income homeowners, that annual household income range is approximately $74,000 – $109,000, which translates into an affordable purchase price of $248,000 - $366,000 based on a maximum of 30% gross income being directed to housing costs.
- For moderate income renters, that range is cut nearly in half, with household incomes at approximately $47,000 – $68,000, for which an affordable monthly rent is $1,200 – $1,700 based on a maximum of 30% gross income being directed to housing costs.
Project Documents
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Notice of Decision (121 KB) (pdf)
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By-law 2024-053
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Staff Report P2024-17
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Proposed Housing Zoning By-law Amendment Materials.pdf (294 KB) (pdf)
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Notice of Public Meeting.pdf (130 KB) (pdf)
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Town of Collingwood - Affordable Housing Master Plan.pdf (1.8 MB) (pdf)
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Town of Collingwood - Housing Needs Assessment.pdf (3.85 MB) (pdf)
