The City of Duncan is applying for a federal grant that could see the municipality receive up to $14.8 million to deal with issues around housing availability and affordability in the area.
Council decided at its meeting on July 17 to apply to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund which is intended to provide incentive funding to local governments across Canada to encourage initiatives that lead to new housing supply.
The program’s goal is to fast track the creation of 100,000 new homes and housing units across Canada as part of the government’s plan to double the construction of homes within the next decade.
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The HAF is a fairly broad funding program that could be used for a variety of initiatives that would lead to increased housing units in the city; including building affordable housing, land acquisition, fast-tracking housing approvals, and the construction of infrastructure, like water and sewer, roads, green spaces and improvements to public transit.
Once an application is made by a municipality, the CMHC will decide which applicants are to be accepted into the program and then determine the appropriate funding amount each will receive, but Duncan’s planning manager Kyle Young said that, according to the HAF’s criteria, the city is eligible for up to $14.8 million in funding.
The application deadline for the HAF funding stream that the city is applying under is Aug. 18, and it’s expected a decision will be made by CMHC by the middle of September.
In a report to council, Young said staff believe there is the potential for significant benefits to Duncan and the Cowichan region if the city is successful with its grant application.
They include additional housing units, which would also see more affordable housing available, to help ease the ongoing housing crisis; more customers for local businesses; and more tax base for the city.
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“Duncan is the most sustainable option for new housing in the Cowichan region,” Young said.
“By supporting housing in Duncan, which is an urbanized area with existing infrastructure, growth pressures on greenfield sites and the climate impacts of urban sprawl can be lessened.”
At the council meeting on July 17, Coun. Tom Duncan said the grant program is a way to get funding from the federal money that can help with several infrastructure projects in the community and also help with affordable-housing projects.
“I’m really hoping our application is successful and we can have access to the funding that can be used for many things throughout the community, including infrastructure, sewer, water and a great tree-planting program, so hopefully, we’ll be successful in getting this money.”
The motion to submit the application passed unanimously.
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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