A Community-led Case Study In Moving From Insight To Action

Prepared by: Anne Finlay-Stewart and Jack Vanderkooy

In January 2021, Collingwood Town Council in response to the UN Habitat for Towns conference held in 2019, unanimously moved to establish an Affordable Housing Task Force. Whereas in past years, small towns like Collingwood took many steps to attract people into their communities, the past few years the area has become very popular, so much so that there is now an acute affordable housing shortage. 

Residents of Collingwood were asked to apply to be on this task force and hence the group included a diverse mixture of industry experts, councillors and lived experience members. The task force was given three mandates: 

• Investigate opportunities and make a recommendation to Council regarding Town owned lands. 
• Monitor and make recommendations to local planning policies that are underway as well as a regional focus to closely monitor and provide recommendations to increase affordable housing options. 
• Explore and make recommendations regarding current grant / funding opportunities for affordable housing development: new, renovation and conversions. 
• Remain connected with and provide support for an action plan for Council regarding Collingwood’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainability Goal #11 pertaining to safe and affordable housing. 

Three sub-groups were formed to address the first three items on the list. Members met in their subgroups weekly by Zoom, and bi-weekly as a full group. It is important to note that the task force was to make recommendations on below market rental or homeownership, as subsidized housing is provided by Simcoe County. 

A turning point in the work of the task force came after a presentation in early July by Marg Scheben-Edey, a long time affordable housing advocate, when she shared statistics from Simcoe County Housing Authority on the extent of the crisis – yes it was a crisis! And if no action is taken immediately, the economic and social consequences will be severe, threatening the quality of life most people have moved here for. 

To say that the task force was passionate about their work is an understatement! Everyone put their heart and soul into this work aided by Town staff who kept them on track and did much of the writing for the final report. Some task force members also benefited from the cross-over value of work that the Institute for Southern Georgian Bay was doing on Social Finance and Housing towards a sustainable recovery. 

On November 1, the task force presented their report to the Strategic Initiatives Committee of the Town of Collingwood which included town staff and full Council. The report was released to the public several days before the public meeting. 

The report included 60 recommendations, which were prioritized in 7 key points which Council adopted with some minor changes. Most significantly, The Town of Collingwood included in their 2022 budget the following: 

• 1% of property tax revenues ($350,000) towards an affordable housing reserve fund
• hire an Affordable Housing Planning Specialist in 2 nd quarter 2022 
• establishment of an Affordable Housing Advisory Committee to advise Council on steps to implement recommendations found in the report.

During the months after the task force presentation, Town staff worked diligently with NBLC consultants and the Task Force to prepare the Affordable Housing Master Plan on how to implement the other recommendations. The Plan was unanimously adopted by Council in November 2023. 

In the past year, there have been some quick wins: 

• Permitting up to four dwelling units per residential and rural property; 
• Updating the zoning provisions for Additional Residential Units (ARUs); 
• Reducing minimum parking requirements for ARUs and apartment buildings.
• Provided seed funding for a new not-for-profit housing provider. 

The Town also provided financial incentives and pre-approved building designs to expedite the building permit approval process for ARUs. To date, 45 building permits for ARUs have been granted. 

NIMBY-ism (Not in my Back Yard) at early public meetings highlighted the need to address the misconceptions and dispel the myths around affordable housing. The Task Force now has received a new mandate from Council, namely to focus on education, advocacy, and community engagement to support and champion affordable housing initiatives within the Town.  

With a continued focus on providing information through the process, the most recent public engagement opportunities have brought forward solutions and offers of assistance with needs like  landscaping. 

What lessons were learned from the Collingwood experience? 

1. The support of council – ideally 100% – is essential.  
2. A solid financial commitment is needed to make the Master Plan work. Council committed 1% of the Town’s realty tax revenues or $350,000 per year since 2021, plus contributions from developers. 
3. Hiring qualified experienced consultants ensures that accurate, current and relevant data is available to inform the process. 
4. Everyone needs to be at the table – the housing industry, municipal representatives, citizen advocates and those with lived experience of inadequate, unaffordable or precarious housing. The economic well-being of a town is dependent on its supply of affordable housing and will impact every element of the community. 
5. Affordable housing must be planned within complete communities where services, transportation, stores, and public assets are within the community, preferably without the need for a private car. 
6. Effective public engagement and education can address opposition and promote positive action, bringing local residents on side to contribute to the process of building their community. 

The credibility of the Collingwood process has attracted the support of experienced partners in affordable housing finance, including Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Tapestry Community Capital and Van City Community Investment Bank – a subsidiary of Canada’s largest credit union. The Tamarack Institute is facilitating training on community engagement.

The Town of Collingwood has moved significantly to address housing affordability in their community. The crisis remains and we hope that with the work of the task force and the commitment from the Town, this community will be one that actively promotes “Housing for Everyone”.