A housing task force report by Almaguin Community Economic Development (ACED) identifies not only how a housing shortage affects growth in the region, but also how to overcome this obstacle.
The report concludes that a shortage of homes negatively affects growth in the labour force, which otherwise would help to drive existing businesses and new business development.
Dave Gray, the director of economic development at ACED, says some of the major employers raise this issue regularly.
Gray says even when employers expand and hire more personnel, the new employees can’t find homes in the Highlands so they commute from another area like Huntsville or North Bay, resulting in an 'economic bleed'.
Gray says this occurs when a person gets a high-paying job and wants a higher-end home, but can’t find it in the Highlands.
Consequently, they spend their paycheques, not in the Highlands, which would help keep local businesses sustainable, but rather in the non-Almaguin communities where they live.
“It’s one reason why some communities look to tourism for new money,” Gray said.
The housing shortage also affects assessment growth in the Almaguin Highlands and impacts the overall quality of life in the region.
The task force report helps communities and stakeholders have a solid understanding of the factors that impact the development, improvement, and accessibility of housing throughout the Almaguin region.
Gray says one obstacle to adding more housing stock in the Highlands is how much infrastructure like water and sewer, in some cases natural gas, and even reliable internet, is available.
Gray says another consideration is the kind of land use restrictions developers face that limit the number of homes they can build in one area.
“For developers, the goal is to create as many units as they can,” Gray said.
“So, if they have 100 acres, they’re going to put as many lots as they can to maximize that footprint. And the more units there are, the less money the land costs.”
Gray says realistically, a 100-acre parcel of land can generate about 40 units because not all the land can be used for housing since the developer has to account for things like roads and common areas.
This is something developers will factor into a project.
However, Gray notes if other factors emerge, then the developer can’t use that 100 acres more efficiently, and that forces the costs of development higher.
“And, then the cost of the final product is well beyond the ability for many potential homeowners to buy,” Gray said.
Depending on the project, Gray says the cost to build a home can be anywhere from $300 to $500 a square foot.
At just 1,000 square feet this can become an expensive build.
Gray says people are changing their expectations, but adds “The idea of owning something as opposed to renting is still desirable."
It’s with this in mind that the task force attempted to consider all housing options in the Highlands.
Gray says an example is a multi-use development but the concept is easier said than done.
Rural areas have limits on septic systems because of potential contamination issues and consequently, a set of four or five row houses would share a septic system.
Gray says this would require an agreement with how the owners achieve a wastewater solution to say nothing if there are legal challenges in this scenario. Gray is not ruling out multi-use development. He’s simply pointing out it has challenges and needs further investigation.
The task force report raises the question, what are municipalities willing to do to make the Highlands more attractive to developers so they will want to build in the region?
Gray says one possible answer is aligning the bylaws and official plans so there is symmetry from one municipality to another. Gray says this is a critical point for development.
“If we want the region to be open for development, we need to make the development landscape easier to navigate,” he said. Gray notes all the municipalities are at different stages with their respective official plans and bylaws and encourages them to align these rules and regulations.
Gray says another way to make the area more attractive for developers is for municipalities to amend their current official plans to the degree the amendment is still compliant with the Ontario Building Code but allows smaller homes, commonly known as tiny homes, on municipal lots.
These tiny homes could be in the 300-400 square foot range.
And as long as agreements can be worked out, a means to further reduce building costs among these units is to encourage the owners to share site-specific water and septic systems.
Gray hopes at some point there will be a shift back to subsidizing green energy initiatives. He says there are some subsidies for homeowners to make their homes more efficient, and adds perhaps there will be an opportunity in the future for developers to dovetail energy-efficient products like solar technology right into a housing build and at the same time reduce the impact on the electricity grid.
The report has been making its way to the municipal council agendas during October, but Gray says nothing in it binds any community to do anything.
Gray says housing is both a municipal and economic development issue and the hope within ACED is that some of the findings in the report can be acted upon shortly to ease the housing shortage and help bring more growth to the region.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with Almaguin News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
