A major affordable housing project in Port Elgin has cleared an important hurdle.
Saugeen Shores council has approved a zoning by-law amendment for the Bluewater Affordable Housing and Park development, which is proposed for municipal land at the south end of Port Elgin.
The project would include two apartment buildings, eight stacked townhouse buildings, and four standard townhouse buildings, for a total of 183 rental units. The development is intended to meet affordability targets for moderate and low-income households, and would also include a new municipal park of about two acres.
Mayor Luke Charbonneau says the project has been in the works for a couple of years, and council’s zoning decision moves it into the next stage.
"It’s a very important housing development in our community," Charbonneau said. "It’s 180-some-odd proposed affordable housing units, so it’ll be 100 per cent affordable."
Charbonneau says the town is contributing municipal land and financial support, but the project will also need help from other levels of government.
"We badly need affordable housing in our community, just like every community, and so this is a great opportunity for us to achieve that," he said.
Council has also authorized a letter of intent with Margaret Laurence Housing Co-operative in support of the project. A formal agreement is expected to come back to council at a later date.
Charbonneau says the co-operative model, along with the town keeping ownership of the land, is central to making sure the units remain affordable long-term.
"We’re not selling the land, so the municipality will retain ownership of the underlying property," he said. "We’ll have agreements with the cooperative that guarantees that will remain affordable for at least 50 years."
The mayor says that also gives the community a continued role in the project.
"The public’s land is a precious resource, and we’re not going to just hand it over for no return," Charbonneau said. "We’re going to ensure that the public’s land is used for housing that’s going to be affordable, and that’s going to stay affordable."
The project still has more steps ahead, including site plan control and further design work. Council has directed staff to report back on possible traffic calming measures for the area, as well as options to increase parkland within the development, including whether the stormwater management pond could be relocated.
Charbonneau says residents have raised legitimate concerns about traffic, schools, parkland, and how the development will fit into the neighbourhood.
"We understand we’re going to add some units in this part of the town," he said. "We have to make sure that the community is prepared and built to accommodate those new units."
He says those issues will be considered as the project moves through the next stages of planning and design.
Charbonneau says the broader need remains clear.
"We have a housing crisis," he said. "We have a large number of people in our community, I would say an increasing number of people, who can’t afford a home in our community."
The town says people who submitted correspondence on the application will be notified when the site plan control process begins.
