County Working On Affordable Housing Strategy

Barrie mayor Jeff Lehman and Orillia mayor Angelo Orsi supported the plan, but would like to see strategies developed to meet the identified demand for housing across the region.

"It's going to find that the need is great. We all know that. We would all be really surprised if the outcome of this study was that the demand was being met," Lehman said at a county human services committee meeting Tuesday. “Demand is great, we know that. Resources are not.

"We need to find other ways to build affordable housing, other than asking the federal and provincial government for money, because that doesn’t seem to be working."

A consultant has been hired by the county to prepare the 10-year-strategy, after new provincial legislation required all service managers, including the County of Simcoe, to develop long-term local housing and homelessness plans by January 2014. The budgeted cost is $150,000.

OrgCode Consulting is a mid-sized Canadian company with national and international experience creating community, municipal and regional housing strategies, as well as contributing to national housing policy development. Recently, the firm has worked with the government of Alberta, City of London and County of Lambton and provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador on similar projects.

Company president Iain De Jong was at this week's county human services committee meeting to present his plans to collect data, construct a process for public input and deliver a strategy to county council by June 2013.

"We want to engage with the community," he said. "This strategy will be actionable and it will be something that will serve the people it is created for."

A Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy Steering Committee will provide guidance and ensure the plan includes an assessment of current and future needs along the housing continuum, description of measures proposed to meet the objectives and descriptions of how progress will be measured.

"We will be looking at the full continuum of housing in Simcoe County," explained Terry Talon, general manager of social services for the County of Simcoe. "That means looking at all the different options available."

That continuum includes all housing situations from homelessness through temporary housing, emergency shelter, transitional housing, affordable rental housing and home ownership.

The county social and community services division is responsible for the planning and administration of the region’s housing and homelessness system, including various mandated programs.

Along with identifying priorities based on regional needs, the plan will address the need for housing for victims of domestic violence and the need for accessible housing for persons with disabilities.

When completed, Talon expects the plan will "better position the county to integrate and direct resources to meet the specific housing and homelessness needs for our residents."