Public input to municipal housing strategy

Nov 25, 2010

Members of the public and various representatives from the townships and local organizations attended a public meeting at Oso Hall on November 18 concerning the Municipal Housing Strategy for the City of Kingston and County of Frontenac.

Consultants Ed Starr and Ken Foulds, along with Cheryl Hitchen, manager of community programming for the City of Kingston, outlined the strategy they have put together in the hopes of finalizing recommendations that will be presented to councils in January 2011.

The team broke the strategy down into three consecutive phases: 1) Housing Demand and Supply Analysis; 2) Housing Policies and Action; and 3) Housing Strategy Implementation. To date, a number of consultations have and are continuing to take place with the public at large, various focus groups and key informant groups, which will wrap up phase one. Organizers hope to have a completed report on housing supply and demand, which they plan to make available to the public in the near future.

The presentation outlined some key emerging issues: an increase in an aging population, a low diversification in available housing with the majority existing as single family dwellings, a decrease in rental units despite an increasing demand and the increase in temporary populations which is affecting both the rental and owner markets.

Organizers next outlined how they intend to address these issues by: encouraging more coordination between partners to advance the housing agenda; by offering a broader range of tools and resources to maintain and increase the housing supply; putting into place a more flexible regulatory environment to foster diversity and affordability; expanding the capacity to act on opportunities as they arise; and by increasing the focus on housing for those with special needs, particularly seniors and youth.

After outlining their plan and their initial findings, organizers opened up the floor to hear concerns of the individuals in attendance.

One pointed out that the chosen title “Building Capacity” should include the term “sustainable” since often, projects are successfully put up but prove not to be sustainable in the long term.

Councilor John Purdon corrected an error in the presentation, which overlooked the fact that though the County of Frontenac does not have an official plan, each of the four townships within it does. This led him to stress that the housing plan should “look more to the local levels since there are big differences throughout. He continued, “It should be noted that the contacts at the local levels are very important.”

Ed Starr responded that looking at the official plans of the townships would be part of their exercise in the next phase.

Another resident mentioned that information defining certain benchmarks highlighted in their study might not pertain to rural communities. For example rural residents, unlike those in the city, must travel to get to services; in Kingston that is not the case.

Councilor-elect John McDougall asked for clarification of the process of communication between the City of Kingston, Frontenac County and the townships. Ed Starr responded, “The communication comes through Cheryl’s group which manages social housing across the area.”

Mayor Janet Gutowski pointed out the fact that housing issues will likely gain priority and focus with the recent addition of more councilors to county council. “We’re optimistic that these councilors will have better communication at the township levels which will foster more depth and might lead to the possibility of creating a broader committee to liaise more directly with County Council.”

Don Amos, who works with Northern Frontenac Community Services, raised his concern that there is “nothing in this area that is considered a true safe haven for individuals at risk, be they youth, seniors, or spouses,” adding, “We need something here a little closer to home for these individuals.”

Ken Foulds addressed that issue and brought up the notion of “service clusters” that might fill that void - where a node is created that might contain a number of different organizations and related applicable services.

Regarding Hinchinbrooke and Sharbot Lake Public schools, both of which are slated to be declared surplus in 2012, Ed Starr wondered about the potential for seniors housing and asked the listeners how best to go about organizing a plan in order to take advantage of that opportunity. Janet Gutowski responded, “Leadership will have to establish priorities and communicate with our planners.” She raised the issue of the challenge to create capacity and a coordinated effort within the government to address such an opportunity. She also highlighted the added expenses that can arise when environmental studies are required in rural settings, especially projects that are located close to water and other sensitive areas.

John McDougall highlighted the fact that, “The county is a collection of small communities and no matter what we consider, we have to keep in mind that the viability of these communities depends on the fact that members want to remain here for their entire lives. So even though certain aspects of municipal housing might be handled by the city, this important component must always be considered.”

Don Amos said, “Housing has a regional sense to it...and a study that looks at the whole picture is very worthwhile.”

Both consultants agreed and said they were coming away from the meeting with an increased understanding of rural housing issues. “We gained the understanding here today that people have their hearts and souls in these communities and are looking for ways to be able to stay here. As far as we are concerned, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and the determination we witnessed in this room will definitely translate into some very positive ideas and strategies.”