In response to the subject…

In response to the subject bulletin, please see the following brief response from the Niagara Region Planning and Development Services Department to the to the Discussion Questions provided:

1. What are the key barriers impacting your municipality in meeting its housing needs that may be unique to northern and rural communities?

• Infrastructure Limitations

Development in rural communities is largely limited by infrastructure constraints. To provide, maintain, and upgrade the services needed to adequately provide for new residential development or intensification in rural areas would require a significant amount of time and financial investment, and would circumvent Provincial land use policy that restricts servicing in the rural area.

In addition, the presence of a highly vulnerable aquifer across much of Niagara’s rural area further restricts the scale of development that can occur in and around rural settlements. Innovative approaches to rural servicing is needed to address residential growth in these areas.

• Growth Pressure, Affordability, and Youth Retention

Housing in Niagara’s rural areas have become increasingly limited. There is a particular demand for the type of housing provided in rural areas, especially those within proximity to the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area. As such, rural communities have experienced significant increases in housing prices, exacerbated by the same construction labour and materials shortages noted in our comments for ERO 19-5286.

Despite this, rural communities are less likely to contain community housing, supportive housing, or other non-profit housing programs. With limited resources available, providers are more likely to co-locate these housing types in larger urban centres along with other public service facilities.
In addition, housing in rural areas often require major repairs or upgrades, and the use of short-term rental near lake shores and other popular tourist destinations in the Region further limits supply. All of these factors have caused residents to need to leave their communities in search of suitable housing. Older adults and youth populations, in particular, are impacted by the significant restrictions to development within these communities.

• Minimum Separation and Impacts to the Agricultural System

Land use conflicts often occur for new residential development in the rural area. Despite the use of minimum distance separation formulae, noise, odour, and agricultural traffic can be source of constant complaints for those moving. Depending on a dwelling’s proximity to agricultural uses, it can restrict and limit agricultural uses within the rural area. Given the particular importance of the Niagara Peninsula’s tender fruit and grapeland to the Province as a whole, these conflicts are also a complication when planning for residential uses in parts of the Niagara Region’s rural and agricultural areas.

2. What kind of flexibility is needed to address housing needs in your municipality?

• Greenbelt Plan Mapping

The Specialty Crop mapping in the Greenbelt Plan would have relied on the Soils Classification that was done in 1989 in Niagara, as well as the Region’s agricultural mapping in the Official Plan. The Classification did not consider existing uses and did not did not have the sophistication of today’s mapping tools to properly delineate where this development has existed for the last 40-60 years. For example, in the Town of Grimsby there are many examples of small residential subdivisions, and large public uses such as schools, community sports grounds and facilities, rifle ranges or radio towers that were inappropriately designated Specialty Crop Area. Correcting existing errors in provincial mapping with site visits would be helpful in assisting with some of these lands that have existing services develop to allow for the necessary residential uses.
 
3. What potential tools or policies could the government consider to address housing needs in your municipality while balancing other provincial priorities?

• Financial Support:

Perhaps the most effective tool to consider in order to support rural housing needs, including new housing development and repair of the existing housing stock, would be new or continued funding options through grants, loans, and other incentives programs, housing suitable to young families, young adults, and/or seniors looking to downsize within the community.

4. Do you have other suggestions for ways to improve housing supply and needs in rural and northern municipalities?

No further comments.