Latest news with #AcceleratorFund
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Winnipeg councillors begin hearing on fourplexes, four-storeys zoning changes
Winnipeg councillors began a multi-day hearing on new zoning rules on Monday that would allow up to four units on residential lots across the city. The proposed changes would also allow construction fourplexes up to four storeys high within 800 metres of frequent transit routes. These projects would be permitted without the need for a public hearing, as long as they meet design standards like lot coverage and setbacks. Dozens of people registered to speak at the hearing, roughly evenly split between those in support and those in opposition. The hearing is expected to last multiple days, beginning with supporters like Michael Hems. "I believe that we need to just allow our housing stock to grow in a way that curbs urban sprawl, because to many Winnipeggers out there, they understand our infrastructure is crumbling," he said. Councillors agreed to make the changes to get more than $122 million from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund. Critics say the plan will take away the right of people to have a say on developments. Others argue that the changes will not lead to a significant increase in housing construction, because other factors such as the cost of materials and labour shortages hamper the industry. St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes says city staff have addressed some of his concerns, but not all of them. He and River Heights-Fort Garry Coun. John Orlikow won a vote earlier this year, rescheduling the hearing from March until June, to allow more time for public consultation. "That created, I think, a kind of a spirit of compromise," Mayes told reporters on Monday. "So, it's been respectful so far. We'll see. Tempers will rise at some point, probably mine included. But you know, so far so good, I think." Mayes says he still worries the minimum lot size for fourplexes with no back lane is too small. Mayor Scott Gillingham says the federal government has mandated the changes, and the city needs money for housing. "We have talked publicly and consistently about the fact that I think as of six months ago, the vacancy rate in Manitoba was below two per cent," he said. "It's very difficult to find housing in Winnipeg right now." Gillingham says other federal funding programs like the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund and the Canada Public Transit Fund also make zoning changes a requirement. In total, he says more than $450 million in federal money depends on the city following through on its rezoning commitment. To qualify for the full funding, Winnipeg must issue building permits for 14,000 units by next year. Councillors are expected to vote on the zoning changes later this week, after all delegates have spoken.
CBC
27-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Is bigger always better? Not everyone agrees when it comes to 4-plexes in Fredericton
Social Sharing Fredericton councillors have less than two weeks to weigh how they'll vote on a resolution that could spur greater density across the city by allowing most homes to be divided into four separate units. If approved, the zoning bylaw amendment would usher in sweeping changes that would allow a homeowner to create up to three additional units in their home — without the need for permission from city council. But while it's been decried by residents as a threat to the character of neighbourhoods, some housing experts say the changes include restrictions that could still limit their impact in creating new housing units. "There needs to be an effort to say 'Yes' to multi-family housing, rather than say 'Yes, but ...' 'Yes, but ...' 'Yes, but ...' 'Yes, but ...'" said Carolyn Whitzman, a senior housing researcher at the University of Toronto. "And it sounds to me like there's a lot of yes, but-ing happening." Fredericton city staff have put forward the proposed zoning bylaw changes as part of the conditions for receiving $10.3 million through Ottawa's Housing Accelerator Fund. Municipalities apply for a piece of the $4-billion fund to pursue housing-related projects, with a key condition hinging on applicants loosening their zoning rules to make four units the maximum number that can be built on a residential lot. WATCH | 4-unit homes allowed across the city? Don't expect wave of new housing, experts say: Zoning changes to spur new housing in Fredericton no silver bullet, experts say 34 minutes ago Duration 3:26 Fredericton currently allows most residential properties to contain a maximum of two units, with a zoning amendment required if a homeowner wants to create more. Some cities have already adopted or are in the process of adopting changes that would effectively allow a property owner to tear down a home and replace it with a fourplex. However, Fredericton's proposal would only allow a property owner to create up to three extra units, in addition to the home's primary dwelling, along with regulations limiting the sizes of those units and requiring lots to be a certain size in order to qualify. The case for loosening zoning rules Zoning regulations in Canadian cities date back to the 1920s, with an original intent to separate homes from the areas where dirty, noisy industrial businesses were allowed to operate, said Whitzman. In the 1970s, another wave of restrictive zoning rules swept Canadian cities in a way that demarcated large portions of residential areas as exclusively for single family homes. Aside from segregating blocks of lower income people from more affluent residents, it also made it more difficult to construct multi-unit buildings, which in turn drove up the cost of existing homes. Whitzman said urban planners have known about the negative impacts of exclusionary zoning but municipal councils have been reluctant to make meaningful changes because of vocal lobbying by homeowners. She views the federal Housing Accelerator Fund as a necessary incentive to encourage local councils to make the politically unpopular decision to loosen zoning rules. "We have to do something meaningful," Whitzman said. "Again, this isn't the magic bullet, but it's part of the answer." Results from an early adopter A push to loosen zoning rules that exclude anything but single detached homes in residential areas has swept North America in recent years. Minneapolis, Minn, is considered one of the early adopters, with changes in 2020 that allowed triplexes to be built in areas formerly reserved for single detached homes, along with allowances for even denser six-unit buildings along main transit corridors. The changes in Minneapolis were also met with criticism from residents concerned they would alter the character of their neighbourhoods, said Zak Yudishthu, a housing policy researcher focused on Minneapolis and its twin city of Saint Paul. However, almost five years after their implementation, he said the changes haven't led to a significant number of new triplexes being built where they formerly weren't allowed. "What we've seen in the first few years is there's been pretty limited development of those duplexes and triplexes — maybe a few dozen," Yudishthu said. "So, in total, that's maybe contributed a couple hundred housing units." More restrictions, less uptake While loosening zoning rules can help create more housing, any accompanying restrictions on how it can be done will limit uptake. Yudishthu said in a "political compromise" to appease some residents, Minneapolis included restrictions that only allowed the footprint of a triplex to be half the square area of the lot it sits on, along with height restrictions preventing triplexes from being more than 2½ storeys. Yudishthu said those regulations likely stymied the development of denser homes in Minneapolis and offer a hint of how strong the uptake might be if Fredericton adopts the changes it's considering. "I think we've seen in places like Portland [Ore.] and Minneapolis, that with the potential to knock down and replace a single family home with a triplex, it doesn't happen that quickly. "So if that option is also off the table, I think that you would expect relatively slow or kind of weak response." In Fredericton's case, a homeowner would have to build or renovate a house to create at least four units, with one of them needing to be larger than the rest — effectively disqualifying the typical fourplex model. Also, the size of a lot will determine how many additional units a property can accommodate. At least one parking space per unit will be required for homes outside the downtown and any additions to a home can't be taller in height than the main structure. "The more regulations you retain ... it's probably not surprising that the impact is going to be lower than if you had a more permissive kind of zoning reform," said Daniel Kuhlmann, assistant professor of real estate and urban planning at the University of Arizona. Kuhlmann said loosening zoning rules has the potential to encourage more diverse housing options. But even in cities that have made more permissive reforms, change has been slow overall. "These changes are always going to be slow and and, you know, development and redevelopment takes time, but I think it's ... moving generally in the right direction." Fredericton has allowed one extra unit in most homes since the 1970s, and last year expanded that allowance to all low-rise residential lots across the city, said Shasta Stairs, spokesperson for the city, in an email. City permits to create extra units have climbed from five in 2020 to 20 in 2024. "Therefore, in the Fredericton context [secondary dwelling units] happen at a very gradual pace and are spread throughout the city," Stairs said.
CBC
10-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
North End Women's Centre included in 12 Winnipeg projects receiving housing funding
The transitional housing component of a women's centre is one of 12 downtown housing initiatives to receive funding from the City of Winnipeg's $25 million housing grant program. The city announced the recipients of its second round of grants Monday, using money from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund. This round of funding will eventually create 1,418 housing units, including 633 affordable units downtown. The projects include the North End Women's Centre, a resource centre in the inner city since 1984. The centre has also run a transitional housing program for nearly 20 years, starting with two units above the centre's thrift shop, Upp Shop, in 2006. "We are so excited for this announcement, which will double our transitional housing capacity," said executive director Cynthia Drebot. She says it will create "opportunities for accessing healing groups, ceremony, in a space that is double this size of what we're in right now." In 2023 Manitoba's previous government announced the centre would receive $400,000 in funding to help maintain its existing eight-bed program and support women in long-term recovery from substance use and trauma. The new city-funded facility will be built in the parking lot area of the existing women's centre at 390 and 394 Selkirk Ave., and will have wraparound supports in place to support residents in a multitude of ways including counselling, parenting programs and life skill development, and will house eight rent-geared-to-income units. Gender-based housing is important for women and gender diverse people who experience homelessness differently than men, and are often precariously housed. "They're living in very unsafe situations and spaces. They often do not feel safe going to shelters, and they tell us that they are often assaulted when they're in those spaces," Drebot said Included in the other 11 projects receiving funding through the city's housing program is a 144-unit apartment building that prioritizes Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation members and other First Nations community members at 269 River Ave., managed by Brokenhead Ojibway Nation Development Corp. Projects are required to obtain building permits within 12 months of receiving funding, said Mayor Scott Gillingham in a Monday press conference. The city announced the first round recipients of the program in September 2024. Eleven projects received $25 million dollars, creating 1,135 housing units, including 597 affordable units. In addition, 16 housing development projects will receive $33.5 million in tax increment financing through the City's Affordable Housing Now Program, according to a Monday news release. Total construction costs for all projects are expected to exceed $1.6 billion. All projects awarded funding through round two of the Housing Accelerator Fund Capital Grand Program applied during the programs initial intake period with a total of 66 total grant applications. "What we're really proud of is the partnership that we've been able to establish with the federal government to get housing built," Gillingham said.
