Tay council is exploring options for assisting attainable home ownership through a possible partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
The idea was brought to the table this week by Coun. Sandy Talbot.
"I think it's a wonderful program and we've had it here before," she said, talking about the two home dedication projects already completed in the township.
With council support, Talbot said she would like staff to explore land in the township that could be used for Habitat projects.
She immediately found support from her colleagues.
"I wholeheartedly support this," said Coun. Paul Raymond. "We do have a chronic housing shortage. Even if we did another one of these that's one family less trying to find a roof over their head. We should get on this as quickly as possible."
Coun. Mary Warnock was also in agreement.
"It's a great idea," she said. "I'm not sure if they've come to us asking for a specific site, but I think we should be proactive and look at what we've got. We have one in the Harbour as well. It would be great if we could offer that service."
Deputy Mayor Gerard LaChapelle concurred with his peers, but said the township should find out more details about what the group wants in such cases.
"Maybe we should be looking at this from a perspective of how often we do it and plan it out over time, like one in five years," he said. "That way, we can budget accordingly. If we could come up with some sort of plan with respect to Habitat for Humanity homes as we grow, we can budget accordingly. As we do developments, we can always get into a dedication from a lot from the developer."
Habitat for Humanity Ontario Gateway North CEO Kimberley Woodcock said she had not been approached by the township, but would be glad to have a discussion with them about it.
"In our territory municipalities have been very generous in land donations," she said. "We usually start with that and then the waiver of fees and development charges or at least a deferral is very helpful. That's not required by us, but it's a generosity we've had from other municipalities. As a charity, we are not in this for profit and it is very helpful...the more contribution we have from community members, in general."
The Habitat model, said Woodcock, is centred on home-ownership opportunities.
"Our first step is to secure a piece of land," she said. "We develop it and construct a house and in the process select a family that is living in unsuitable housing, but is working and is able to afford mortgage payments and home maintenance. They're not able to qualify for the conventional mortgage system. The family moves in for one year. They pay geared-to-income (mortgage) payments. That's what makes our model affordable."
Woodcock said Habitat offers a mortgage that has no down-payment requirements and provides flexible amortization options, which are spread over more years than a conventional mortgage.
"Habitat is now looking at models that involve multi-residential buildings," she said. "It's taking us out of grassroots and more into the development territory. The next time I talk to a municipality about donation of land, it would be about land that can accommodate a multi-residential building so it can acommodate more people. We want land that is zoned ready for that, has parking spaces and all of that."
Woodcock said a multi-residential building pilot project is already underway in Huntsville.
"It's a cautious step in this direction," she said, adding the units in that building will be rented out at affordable prices. "The intent is that we take the lessons learned from that and scale it up."
Their next home ownership project, Woodcock said, is set for Midland, where they will soon commence construction of a universally-accessible, semi-detached house that will be offered to two families.
For more information about Habitat for Humanity and to participate in their projects, visit their website.
