City seeks policy ideas to promote affordable housing
A new request for proposal seeks a contractor to suggest policy changes and incentives, with a final proposal tailored to Winnipeg's unique needs and budget.
'We're in an affordable crisis right now and we need more housing to support our growing and changing population, so we're interested in exploring all the tools available to us as a city to address that need,' said Lissie Rappaport, manager of the city's Housing Accelerator Fund office.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
The City of Winnipeg is trying to expand and incentivize affordable housing, as per a new request for proposals.
The RFP calls for the winning bidder to examine best practices for affordable housing. It suggests that could include zoning entitlements, which let property owners deviate from certain zoning requirements when they produce affordable housing, fast-tracking the development process, waiving some development fees and/or creating new grants.
Rappaport said zoning entitlements would be part of a program, not considered on a case-by-case basis.
The contract is meant to help the city develop a housing strategy and action plan, which is part of an ongoing agreement to secure $122 million from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund by the end of 2026.
Any new incentives would add to changes the city has already implemented to attract affordable housing, which include reduced minimum parking requirements, density bonuses and a series of tax-increment financing grants (that waive property taxes for a set period.)
The city now allows a minimum of just 0.15 parking spaces per affordable housing unit built, instead of the standard 1.5 parking stalls per housing unit.
'That … saves developers money and also aligns with affordable housing,' said Rappaport.
A density bonus pilot project that began in 2023 allowed developers to construct projects with more housing units than the standard maximum number, as long as 50 per cent of all extra units had affordable rents for at least 20 years.
The city also devoted $54 million to capital grants for new housing projects in 2024 and 2025 through its share of the federal Housing Accelerator Fund.
Rappaport said the contractor will review the city's current efforts to attract more affordable housing in addition to recommending new options.
'There is a lot the city can do to incentivize affordable housing, some of which doesn't even cost us anything,' she said.
Coun. Sherri Rollins, a former chairwoman of the property and development committee, said the city should continue to seek more ways to attract affordable home construction.
'There is still a great pressure to produce housing units … The city can't afford to wait for other governments … we need to be producing housing units ourselves,' said Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry).
The councillor said the city can struggle to attract development at times because some civic planning positions are 'chronically understaffed.'
She also cautioned against letting 'one size fits all' density rules supersede some of the city's previous zoning rules. For example, Rollins said an Osborne Village secondary plan allows for more units per lot in some areas than the four-per-lot the city must implement to support its federal funding agreement.
'I have a mixed review of some of the tools that we put in the toolbox,' she said.
The city has started holding public consultations the major zoning change that would allow up to four residential units per lot in most residential areas, which council will vote on in June.
Winnipeg Jets Game Days
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.
City council previously approved new rules aimed at attracting more affordable home projects near malls and transportation corridors.
The city's definition of affordable housing includes homes that cost no more than 30 per cent of the household before-tax income, or rents of less than 80 per cent of the median market rate, according to the RFP.
The RFP sets a deadline to complete the contract by the end of this year. The city will pay up to $150,000 for the work.
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca
X: @joyanne_pursaga
Joyanne PursagaReporter
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
6 days ago
- CTV News
Windsor seeks firm for 90-cam downtown surveillance network
The City of Windsor is looking for a security company to build and run a surveillance camera network in the downtown core as part of its Strengthen the Core revitalization plan. A request for proposals (RFP), issued Aug. 1, outlines a $450,000 program that would see a private firm supply, install, monitor and maintain cameras at participating businesses. 'We're looking for a qualified vendor in security or surveillance that will supply, install and basically manage the surveillance equipment,' said Andrew Daher, the city's commissioner of corporate services. 'In addition to that, not just the one-time cost of installing and providing the equipment, but also monitoring and maintaining in real time the surveillance for the businesses within the downtown core.' The program offers grants of up to $5,000 per business, allowing as many as 90 cameras to be online through the downtown area, Daher said. Companies awarded the funding would work directly with the winning security firm to install and maintain the cameras over a minimum five-year term. Businesses would have to apply for the grants once a supplier is chosen. Daher said the city intends to keep an 'arm's-length role,' reimbursing businesses for eligible costs while leaving day-to-day operations to the contractor. The new network would expand on Project StreetSafe, a pilot launched in August 2023 that placed a handful of cameras at downtown businesses. Daher said the trial helped track hundreds of incidents and was well received by business owners and the community. 'The initial pilot, which was fairly small, can definitely be expanded,' he said. 'We're going to do everything that we can to increase the safety and address anti-social behaviours within the downtown area.' The bidding period closes Aug. 22. According to Daher, city council hopes to review and award the contract to the successful proponent in early to mid-October.
CTV News
07-08-2025
- CTV News
NCC looks to open a floating sauna in the Ottawa River
The National Capital Commission is looking to open a floating sauna at the NCC River House. (NCC/X) You will soon be able to relax in a floating sauna along the Ottawa River. The National Capital Commission (NCC) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to design, build and/or operate a floating sauna that will be located on a barge at the NCC's River House in Ottawa's east end. The proposed floating sauna must accommodate a minimum of 15 people and up to 25 people. It would operate year-round, seven days a week. A hot tub and indoor or outdoor shower using water pumped from the Ottawa River could also be part of the proposed floating sauna, according to the documents. The RFP also suggests design considerations for a cold plunge area in the winter. According to the NCC, patrons will be able to book either community or private sessions, and sessions would be 60 minutes. The NCC wants to open the floating sauna to the public by Dec. 31. The documents show the floating sauna will be located on a barge just east of the NCC River House and the swimming area. Floating sauna A map in the request for proposals shows the proposed location for the floating sauna at the NCC's River House. (National Capital Commission/documents) Interested companies have until Aug. 21 to submit a proposal, and the NCC is hoping for a five-year lease agreement for the floating sauna starting Dec. 1, 2025. The RFP does note the NCC does not guarantee that federal approvals for the floating sauna will be granted. The NCC officially opened the NCC River House in 2023 after a $20 million revitalization project that includes a new swimming area, replacing the pedestrian bridge leading to the building and work to preserve the heritage character of the pavilion and allow four-season use of the upper two levels. Floating sauna Documents released by the National Capital Commission show a proposed floating sauna would be located just east of the NCC River House and swimming area. (NCC/documents)
Calgary Herald
30-07-2025
- Calgary Herald
Is Calgary creating inner-city sacrifice zones with its new housing policy?
With its rapid new housing policy, Calgary may be creating inner-city sacrifice zones. Article content Mostly associated with environmental destruction, 'sacrifice zones' are areas permanently changed by heavy alterations (usually to a negative degree) or economic disinvestment, often through locally unwanted land use. Article content Article content A prime example of a sacrifice zone is Appalachia in the United States, where the tops of mountains have been blown off to mine a resource deemed important. What is rarely discussed is how the path of destruction upends the lives of the people living around the zone. Usually, they don't have the resources to fight the destruction, as moneyed interests are too powerful to defeat. And the citizenry turns a blind eye because the need for the resource is more important than the inconvenience of the destruction. Article content Article content Sacrifice zones also occur in real estate. When Hurricane Katrina breached the New Orleans levees, a large part of the city was under water. Rather than helping residents recover their homes, the U.S. government turned the downtown into a sacrifice zone, making way for the development of high-end hotels and eateries. Article content Article content Calgary's approach to creating sacrifice zones is more subtle and is a response to Canada's urgent affordable housing crisis. In procuring $228 million through the Housing Accelerator Fund, the City committed to fast-tracking construction of over 6,800 housing units within three years. In Calgary, one in five households cannot afford where they live, and one in 10 households are at risk of homelessness. This significant need for affordable housing feeds into Calgary's determination to create sacrifice zones in the inner city, but I suggest these zones will not alleviate the housing or the affordability crises because they will be too expensive to buy (more than $700,000) or rent monthly (over $3,500) unless there is a reckoning like we are seeing in the Toronto condo market. Article content Article content Calgary's approach to this problem is to build 'middle housing', represented by multi-unit or clustered housing types. To stop urban sprawl, this type of new development is focused on the inner city and, in particular, neighbourhoods with proximity to LRT and BRT routes. This third driver also primes Calgary's housing plan. Article content The development push is being driven by developers facilitated by the city. Whereas inner-city developments were previously not attractive to developers, the city has sweetened the pot by allowing compounds (four up/four down eight-plexes) on lots previously having a single house. To further appeal, the amount of on-site parking has been reduced by a lot, meaning that more cars line the streets. Then there's the garbage cans. Take a walk around redeveloped inner-city neighbourhoods and see the garbage cans lined up along laneways, blocking access to garages, which means, you guessed it, more cars on the street. Instead of fitting in, these developments are forced in, and I submit that they will destroy the neighbourhood that once was, resulting in a sacrifice zone. Article content These units will help address Calgary's housing crisis, but at what cost? After all, that is what sacrifice zones are all about, providing a need (coal, housing) and ignoring the destruction (mountains, inner-city neighbourhoods). The cost is in inner-city neighbourhoods, beautiful areas that are treed, green, spacious and peaceful. Developers will continue to develop until every tree is gone, and until every last inch of land is covered by a building, garage or cement sidewalk. Article content While no bulldozers are knocking down entire communities, Calgary's inner-city neighbourhoods are facing a slow erosion – one lot at a time – divide and conquer, the oldest play in the playbook. Long-standing communities have been rezoned for high-density development, disrupting all that is good about them. Like Appalachia, Calgary's inner core may soon serve the needs of others at the cost of its residents. There is a better way to densify inner city neighbourhoods and protect what is beautiful about them, so that they continue to be places that people want to live in. I hope the city figures that out before it is too late.
