Psst… the City’s getting housing money
City Hall | Paul Dechene
In a remarkably low-profile Feb. 9 event, federal housing minister Sean Fraser — along with Mayor Sandra Masters — announced before a near-empty room that the city’s Housing Accelerator Fund has been successful!
YAY!
“shhhhh!”
… yay?
Regina will get slightly more than $35 million to support approvals for an extra 1,000 housing units over the next three years.
This amount is just shy of the $36.2 million the City requested, suggesting the ministry has a high level of confidence in the City’s housing projections.
It’s a massive win for city council, which joins the ranks of Canadian cities that have successfully jumped the ministry’s hurdles to access this $4-billion fund. And it should have been a big moment to have the mayor seen standing side-by-side with the federal infrastructure & housing minister. Too bad so few local media were even aware the event was happening.
I am told that, sadly, no giant, novelty cheque for $35 million changed hands.
Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation (CMHC) will be administering the funds and according to a press release they posted:
“The agreement under the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) will provide over $35 million to eliminate barriers to building the housing we need, faster. Regina’s Action Plan commits to 11 local initiatives, including zoning changes to allow four units as-of-right per residential lot, promoting more medium-density, duplex and multi-family homes such as townhouses and multiplexes, allowing greater density along urban corridors by increasing the height limit for buildings, and ensuring that different kinds of homes can be built in established single-family neighbourhoods.”
Regina has already seen the impacts of the Housing Accelerator Fund as on Jan 31, city council passed a series of significant zoning changes intended to satisfy requirements the federal ministry set for cities hoping to access the money.
The changes council unanimously passed on Jan. 31 include:
• increasing the number of housing units that can be built on a lot — up to fourplexes within the Intensification Area and up to duplexes within newer greenfield neighbourhoods.
• increasing the allowable height for low-rise apartment buildings from 11 to 15 metres
• changing parking minimums from requirements to optional “recommendations”.
These zoning bylaw changes will be brought to council for final approval at its Feb. 14 council meeting. (You can read more details about this in the Feb. 7 Prairie Dog article, “What The Cluck”., Just persevere through the backyard chicken ban content to the footnotes.
These changes are just phase one of the work that city administration is undertaking this year to satisfy the Housing Accelerator Fund requirements. Future reports on transit routes and expanding where low-rise apartment buildings can be constructed are expected in the coming months.
According to Mayor Masters, as reported in the CMHC press release, “The City of Regina appreciates the Government of Canada for developing and delivering the Housing Accelerator Fund initiative to assist municipalities in transforming their policies and processes to get housing projects to market faster. Innovation and transformation require investment that is sometimes beyond the means of the day-to-day operations of a city. We are committed to removing barriers to housing development, streamlining our zoning and permitting approval processes, and allowing for greater housing diversity and density to meet the evolving needs of our community.”
To pad out this piece, here are some relevant QUICK FACTS!!! cribbed directly from the CMHC press release because I was one of the reporters who was not made aware of the press event and so I didn’t get to ask the minister any questions.
“Launched in March 2023, the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) is a $4 billion initiative from the Government of Canada that will run until 2026 – 27.
“The Housing Accelerator Fund is part of Canada’s National Housing Strategy (NHS), an $82+ billion plan to give more Canadians a place to call home. Progress on programs and initiatives are updated quarterly at www.placetocallhome.ca. The Housing Funding Initiatives Map shows affordable housing projects that have been developed.
“As of September 30, 2023, the Government of Canada has committed over $38.89 billion to support the creation of almost 152,000 units and the repair of over 241,000 units. These measures prioritize those in greatest need, including seniors, Indigenous Peoples, people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and women and children fleeing violence.”
UPDATE FROM GASLIGHT CITY: I’ve been contacted by CMHC communications in Vancouver who apologized for not promoting this event to local media in such a way that freelancers like me would’ve heard about it. Apparently, a press notification was posted to a wire service? A wire service to which I do not subscribe. And, as far as I can tell right now, that was about it for promotion. So… I guess, it’s on me? I need to sign up for more spam.