PM Trudeau visits Guelph to announce fast-tracking new housing units

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Guelph Friday morning to make an announcement aimed at helping meet the demand for housing in the Royal City.

The goal is to fast-track nearly 750 new housing units over three years. The federal government said it will help spur the construction of more than 9,400 homes over the next decade.

“But the reality is as we change the way things are built in communities like this across the country,” said Trudeau, after touring a housing unit on Shelldale Crescent before noon. “To see more unlocked and meaningful ways to eliminate challenges of the future.”

The federal government and the City of Guelph reached an agreement that is part of the Housing Acceleration Fund which will provide $31.4 million dollars to help ‘eliminate barriers’.

The City of Guelph will allow the building of multi-plexes, over four-storeys and allow more than four units per residential lot, as part of this initiative. The city will also work to streamline zoning bylaw approvals, create more residential housing programs, explore parking reduction policies and implement a new permitting system.

“This is going to help unlock these additional units further – not just 750 but thousands more because of structural changes made inside city hall,” said Mayor Cam Guthrie. “To make processes faster, policy decisions quicker, infrastructure lined up and ready to go.”

The City of Guelph will also look at ways to use surplus city-owned land to create more housing development.

“These initiatives are going to significantly improve the way affordable housing is built and delivered in one of Canada’s fastest growing municipalities,” said a news release from the federal government.

Guelph staff said they are committed to undertaking eight initiatives as part of this plan. In a news release, the city listed some examples:

• a new Housing Affordability Strategy to identify actions, advocacy, and partnership approaches to close housing supply gaps;
• implementing new and enhanced systems and processes to better support and streamline development and construction, including designing a new Community Planning Permit System; and
• examining the potential of increasing the number of allowable units on each lot to encourage more diverse housing options that support missing middle housing in existing neighbourhoods (e.g., fourplexes, multiplexes, detached secondary suites).