Mississippi Mills Housing Highlights
In recognition of the current housing challenges in the province, Mississippi Mills Council recently passed seven initiatives to remove barriers to housing development and reduce the upfront costs of affordable housing development.
34 Victoria Street – Land for Housing First Pilot Project
Housing First is a strategy where the first goal is to provide people with stable housing, after which other services and supports are provided. Several municipalities in Ontario that have surplus lands have adopted a “land for housing first” policy.
The policy means that the Municipality prioritizes their surplus lands to first be provided for affordable housing development. If there is no interest from affordable housing providers, the surplus land will then be offered for sale to the general public.
The property at 34 Victoria Street is a municipally owned parcel of land that is currently vacant. Mississippi Mills Council have recently approved a pilot project as part of a “housing first” initiative to establish a Memorandum of Understanding with a not-for-profit housing provider, Carebridge Community Support Corporation.
This pilot will provide the organization with the opportunity to secure the property for a future affordable housing development.
Exemptions of upfront costs to development for not-for-profit housing projects
Mississippi Mills Council recently passed exemptions to our local Planning and Building Fees for not-for-profit housing developments.
The Municipality already exempts not-for-profit housing developments from a large portion of Development Charges and this new exemption from Planning and Building Fees will further assist in reducing the upfront costs to develop affordable housing projects.
Council also directed staff to explore further reductions in Development Charges during the next Development Charge By-law review in 2024.
These actions reduce the cost of developing each unit of affordable housing by tens of thousands of dollars.
Affordable Housing Grant Program
Mississippi Mills has approved the 2022 Municipal Budget with a dedication of $50,000 towards an Affordable Housing Grant Program. Staff will be utilizing some of these funds in 2022 to develop a comprehensive grant program in time to be considered for the 2023 budget. This initiative will target the development of affordable housing development in the municipality.
Next Steps:
Mississippi Mills staff are currently working on two other planning projects to assist with adding more housing inventory in the area and removing barriers to housing development.
A review of the Site Plan Control by-law is currently ongoing and will result in changes to the Site Plan Control process for certain types of development including streamlining the approval process for small-scale, residential development.
Upcoming changes to the Zoning By-law will be presented to Council this year to permit Additional Residential Units (Secondary Dwelling Units) in more areas of Mississippi Mills to encourage the development of rental units.
These changes will help contribute to the overall rental housing inventory within Mississippi Mills.
These seven actions by Council are intended to create the right mix of incentives to support development of affordable housing in Mississippi Mills.
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