On Tuesday, London officials announced that the municipality has signed on to participate in the federal Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC) Housing Design Catalogue. The catalogue is meant to simplify new housing projects with ready-to-use design packages that can save builders time and money. “You should be able to afford to live in the community that you’re part of,” said Peter Fragiskatos, MP for London Centre. Arielle Kayabaga, MP for London West, added, “We want to make sure that we build homes that everybody can afford.” “The people who build in London build in other communities as well,” said Mayor Josh Morgan. “So, this makes things simple. It makes things fast.” By choosing a standardized and pre-approved design, the builder can reduce the time it normally takes for the municipal building department to review architectural drawings and building designs. “For a fourplex or a sixplex, it could save 15 to 20 days because we know that these drawings and these submissions have already addressed any problems [or] issues,” explained Scott Mathers, Deputy City Manager, Housing and Community Growth. The catalogue features 50 standardized home designs (including architectural drawings) specifically tailored to meet the needs of seven different regions in Canada. There are seven pre-approved designs in Ontario: “They still have to meet the zoning, they still have to meet the existing setbacks on that zoning,” assured Morgan. “And any sort of additional permissions that would be required for those [houses] would still have to go through the standard Council process.” The designs are described as prioritizing energy efficiency, accessibility and livability. “This is going to help [London] meet its housing targets,” explained Kayabaga. “The goal is to build to have more affordable housing in a very speedy way.” “We’re talking about homes here, and the catalogue can help with that,” asserted Fragiskatos. “We need to add housing supply. With supply comes choice, and with choice comes affordability.” A link to the Housing Design Catalogue can be found on the CMHC’s website.
