Federal funds fuel housing in Lakeshore and Chatham-Kent with $17.5M investment

The Municipalities of Lakeshore and Chatham-Kent have received a collective $17.5 million towards affordable housing. CTV Windsor’s Chris Campbell reports.

The federal government has allocated $17.5 million from the second round of the Housing Accelerator Fund to support housing initiatives in the Municipality of Lakeshore and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.

Chatham-Kent will receive over $10 million to support its Action Plan of seven local initiatives, such as allowing four units as-of-right in urban areas, encouraging the construction of Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs), and enabling mixed-use developments of four or more stories, along key corridors.

Chatham-Kent will also implement an e-permitting system to fast-track approvals and create an online building permit and land use planning activity dashboard.

In addition, the city will leverage municipally owned assets for affordable housing, reduce parking requirements for affordable and purpose-built rental housing, and create new permissions to unlock redevelopment potential on high-priority sites.

Lakeshore will receive over $7 million to support its Action Plan of eight local initiatives, such as zoning reforms to increase density in nodes and corridors and encouraging gentle density, including allowing four units per lot as-of-right.

Lakeshore will also leverage underutilized municipal land for affordable housing and incentivize housing through a Community Improvement Plan.

Additionally, the Action Plan will reduce red tape and promote modular construction by developing standardized housing plans, remove barriers to affordable housing through policy reform and partnership with local housing providers, decrease approval times by standing up a Housing Acceleration Team and work with the University of Windsor’s Centre for Cities and community stakeholders to create a roadmap for accelerating sustainable and inclusive residential development.

The Housing Accelerator Fund, managed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, offers financial assistance to local governments to boost housing supply. Municipalities can utilize these funds for various purposes, including housing construction, land acquisition, designing additional public transit infrastructure, and building facilities for drinking water, wastewater, and waste management.

“On behalf of council and the residents of the Municipality of Lakeshore, I’d like to thank the Government of Canada for their support through the Housing Accelerator Fund,” said Lakeshore Mayor Tracey Bailey.

“This grant will help us lay the foundation for unlocking Lakeshore’s full potential. While there is much work ahead, we look forward to engaging residents from communities across our municipality as we implement our action items. Their feedback will be critical to the development of a shared vision for the future of housing in Lakeshore.”

On Monday, Bailey highlighted the unique infrastructure challenges faced by the municipality, given its expansive geography. She emphasized the need to build vertically, rather than expanding into agricultural lands, aiming to address housing needs for both the aging population and younger residents.

Notably, Lakeshore did not receive funding during the initial round of applications to the Housing Accelerator Fund. However, after implementing by-laws allowing four housing units as-of-right — a requirement for the second round of applications — the municipality secured the grant.

“We have a community of communities here in Lakeshore. We can fit two of the City of Windsor in our geography. Our challenges are very unique,” Bailey stated.

“The challenges are real for all of our residents and also for everyone who is moving to our wonderful region.”

Chatham-Kent Mayor Darren Canniff added that the funding announcement will be an excellent step to help build “much needed housing units”, while making them more affordable for residents.

“This will help to get shovels in the ground as myself, council, and administration are doing everything we can within our power to get housing units built,” said Canniff.

“More housing development across the Housing Continuum will help to continue our efforts to ensure our community is strong and vibrant. Access to housing, for all income levels, is essential to keep our community healthy, safe, and strong economically for our residents throughout the communities that make up the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.”

Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk said building homes faster in Chatham-Kent and Lakeshore is how the federal government is “solving the housing crisis.”

“Working with Chatham-Kent and Lakeshore, we are going to make sure families have a safe, affordable place to live,” he said.

Kusmierczyk noted that since both municipalities were approved for the housing accelerator fund, both municipalities can now qualify for additional money through the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund.

“$6 billion of federal infrastructure dollars. It’s the same conditions as the housing accelerator funding,” said Kuzmierczyk.

“So, when you qualify, when you receive housing accelerator funding, you are now eligible for $6 billion in Canada housing infrastructure funding and we know how badly needed it is in our region, but also in communities across Canada. So, the housing accelerator funding is really a gateway to the much bigger Canada Housing Infrastructure Funding, and I know our mayors in our region that have received the funding are already busy at work getting their applications in for the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund.”

- With files from AM800 News