The federal government has completed housing agreements with six small and rural communities in Alberta.
Housing Minister Sean Fraser was in Banff on Monday to make the announcement about the agreements with the mountain town, as well as Sylvan Lake, Bow Island, Westlock, Smoky Lake and the village of Duchess.
The six Alberta agreements will accelerate the construction of more than 400 homes in the communities over the next three years and 3,100 homes in the next decade.
These agreements under the Housing Accelerator Fund will provide a combined total of over $13.8 million to eliminate lack of housing.
The housing accelerator fund offers money in exchange for changes to bylaws and regulations that support more homebuilding.
According to the Mayor of Banff Corrie DiManno, unaffordable housing remains the No. 1 issue, and funding will allow the town to provide financial support and incentives to spur housing development,
“It’s going to help us move the needle on our Housing Action Plan, and ultimately it’s gonna help stimulate new housing in Banff,” said DiManno.
Details from the agreement
Banff will receive $4,660,800 to support its Action Plan which commits to five local initiatives that enable a variety of housing forms and densities to meet the diverse needs of the community. The funding will enable the reduction of parking requirements, as well as updates to the density intensification policy. Banff’s Action Plan will encourage the development of accessory dwelling units by providing financial support and streamlined processing and will incentivize more housing development by creating a suite of financial tools such as tax strategies and fee waivers. Additionally, Banff will unlock efficiencies in the town’s permitting process.
Sylvan Lake will receive $5,485,430 to support its Action Plan which commits to seven local initiatives that enable a variety of housing forms and densities to meet the diverse needs of the community. The funding will allow the Town of Sylvan Lake to rezone to allow for high density residential, commercial, and mixed-use development in the downtown, unlock secondary suites, and incentivize the public, private, and non-profit sectors towards increasing the community’s housing supply.
Bow Island will receive $1,568,000 to support its Action Plan which commits to six local initiatives that enable a variety of housing forms and densities to meet the diverse needs of the community. The funding will allow the Town of Bow Island to update their housing processes through modernizing their land use by-law to include as-of-right zoning, digitizing their permitting process by implanting an e-permitting software solution, and regulating secondary and garden suite development. Bow Island will also encourage missing middle housing through an incentive program, and disincentivize idle land with the implementation of a Land Sale policy.
Westlock will receive $1,112,000 to support its Action Plan which commits to six local initiatives that enable a variety of housing forms and densities to meet the diverse needs of the community. The funding will allow the City of Westlock to increase the supply of lots available for housing development, encourage low-density development in residential districts, and streamline housing development across town through pre-approved plans.
Duchess will receive $527,991 to support its Action Plan which commits to six local initiatives that enable a variety of housing forms and densities to meet the diverse needs of the community. The funding will allow for the reduction or elimination of development fees, tax incentives for developers and amending land use bylaws to allow of missing middle. Duchess’s Action Plan will also remove barriers to housing supply by enabling development on unused village-owned land, and providing serviced land to affordable housing providers committed to developing and operating housing that meets the village’s criteria.
Smoky Lake will receive $486,002 to support its Action Plan which commits to five local initiatives that enable a variety of housing forms and densities to meet the diverse needs of the community. The funding will allow the establishment of small and tiny dwelling neighbourhood guidelines, the creation of an affordable housing incentive program and implementing an e-permitting system for building and development applications. Smoky Lake’s Action Plan will also encourage more affordable housing development by streamlining the process by which developers can purchase town-owned land to create affordable housing units.
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