Lake of Bays Council approved a new affordable housing project to Habitat for Humanity Gateway North, in the November 12, 2024, meeting.

In the September meeting staff were directed to issue a Request for Proposal for a affordable housing development on Dickie Street in Baysville.

Director of Planning, April Best-Sararas, told Council staff received three bids and recommended Habitat, a registered charity that has been in the business for 20 years, including in Muskoka.

Sararas said the proposal includes 6 long-term affordable rental apartments in 2 single story triplex buildings. Each unit will have one bedroom and one parking space.

She added, “The proposal includes commitment to long-term affordability, environmental sustainability, including energy performance above the standards of the Ontario Building Code, completing all project approvals in a timely manner, design excellence, and obtaining and ensuring economical use of the space while maintaining the comfortable livability of the unit, and 100% of the units being universal design in accordance with CMHC standards.”

Financial implications to the Town will include legal costs, surveying, waived fees, stop up and closing the road, rezoning of the land, and more, which will be outlined in the upcoming phases.

Given inquiries about the financial implications of water and sewer systems, Councillor, Robert Lacroix, said, “If Council decided to pay for that, that would probably be around 40 grand.”

Councillor, Mike Peppard, advised staff to consider the District of Muskoka’s $30 million Big Move Forward Fund for support. He said, “This might be our only opportunity for affordable housing in Lake of Bays and we’re paying into that fund.”

Council concerns included the level of affordability of the units, how they negotiate who rents them, reselling of the property, reno-evictions, and rezoning to ensure they aren’t used as short-term rentals (STRs).

Sararas advised there will be a series of steps that will cover all these areas as they move forward with the process.

Councillor, Rick Brooks, said, “We don’t need more STRs. We need places for people to actually live.”

Peppard expressed concern about affordability. He said, “Already we don’t know how long they’re going to be affordable. I think they should be permanently affordable.”

He added that the provincial standard for affordable housing is 80% of the market rate, however, the District reduced it to 60% “because we know 80% is still very unaffordable.”

Sararas assured Council, “There are legal mechanisms in order to ensure affordable housing in the long-term.”  

Mayor, Terry Glover, expressed interest in the timeline of the project, anticipating that it will be like other operations where they won’t be financially obligated once it’s finalized. He said, “We’re not involved with regards to continuing to contribute.”

Regarding other inquiries, such planning and development timeframes, Sararas advised that “there are a lot of unknowns right now because of steps needed to make it a conveyable state.”

She added, “They have committed to doing it in a timely manner.”