Update on Housing Strategy

Jim Torrance and Janet Findlay, representing the BMRA Housing Strategy Working Group (HSWG), met with Mayor Matrosovs and Deputy Mayor Bordignon on November 24, to discuss the Town's housing needs and solicit their input on the challenges and opportunities in achieving TBM's optimal housing mix. The key takeaways from the discussion were:

1 Commitment to our housing Issues

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor confirmed their commitment to addressing our housing issues.

There was agreement that our greatest need is to create "workforce housing", as in rental housing offered below market rates for employees of community businesses (to this point, the HSWG has consistently used the term Affordable Housing, and there is a need to confirm common terminology to avoid confusion).

TBM business leaders have consistently raised lack of affordable housing as a major limitation is running, and expanding their operations.

2 Lack of progress

There was acknowledgement that there has been little discernible progress in the development of affordable housing over the past number of years.

DM Bordignon spoke of the need to show concrete action in this area, and the potential to restart efforts to create housing at the Gateway site was one opportunity that the HSWG supports.

3 Ensuring Council Understands the need

The importance of ensuring that all Council members have a shared understanding of, and commitment to realizing the objective of 215 affordable housing units by 2030 was stressed.

The Housing Strategy Working Group, working in conjunction with Town Staff, can make a contribution to ensuring effective Council collaboration on the housing file.  The CAO could report on progress to Council several times a year in order that Councillors stay fully informed.

4 Allocation of MAT to Housing

Allocation of Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) revenues to support workforce housing is a concept that the BMRA has been promoting.

Given that 50% of the revenues go to an industry association to build tourism business volumes, we believe that the 50% under Town control should be directed to addressing the community impacts of tourist visits. Workforce housing should be one application of those Town revenues. We did clarify that the expectation is that the Town would be taking action to enable workforce housing development, but not directly funding its construction.

5 Impact of Minister Zoning Orders (MZOs)

Minister Zoning Orders were introduced a number of years ago by the Province to expedite Municipal development processes.

The concern has been that MZOs could take control of planning away from municipalities, and limit the extent and influence of public engagement.  The flip side of MZOs when it comes to workforce housing developments is that they can be effective tools to promote affordable housing - so long as Municipal control and public engagement are maintained.

The Town is currently reviewing a proposal for workforce housing near the Blue Mountain Village that has requested an MZO, given that the property is not currently zoned for residential development. The HSWG will monitor this proposal as it moves forward, given its potential to create much needed housing for employees of local businesses.

6 Using Grey County Resources

The benefit of accessing Grey County resources and funding support for TBM affordable housing is obvious.

Our Town contributes annually to Grey's 1% housing fund, and to our knowledge has received no benefit to date. It was agreed that this opportunity will be further pursued once Grey County's 2026 budget is finalized in early December. There was also an agreement that TBM should engage more broadly with Simcoe County and other municipalities such as Collingwood, to ensure that best practices are shared and joint opportunities identified.                                        

7 Other Initiatives need additional resources

During the discussion a number of initiatives were identified which would benefit from additional human resources.  

The HSWG has recommended to the CAO that he temporarily assign some responsibilities of the unfilled Community Growth Advisor position to existing staff or consultants.

Any Questions?