Housing Plans

The City of Kenora, through the Official Plan and Strategic Plan has identified affordable housing as a key principal and priority in guiding community development now and in the future.

Enabling Affordable Housing Action Plan

The Enabling Affordable Housing Action Plan outlines the following actions and sets out a completion timeline for each action.

Financial incentives

The following financial incentives were identified:

incentivize new rental housing construction by maintaining a new multi-residential tax rate for residential properties
create arrangements to provide affordable housing through Municipal Housing Capital Facilities Agreements
enhance financial incentives available for affordable housing and energy efficiency in the City's Community Improvement Plans

Policies and procedures

The following actions related to policies and procedures were identified:

complete a comprehensive review of vacant lands and conduct a growth analysis
establish a policy to increase the utilization of municipal lands for affordable housing where appropriate
establish a Local Improvement Charge procedure to potentially support developers that seek to address housing needs in the community
develop affordable housing using a Municipal Service Corporation

Regulatory

The following regulatory actions were identified:

review regulations and by-laws to identify unnecessary barriers to the creation of affordable housing
create a Development Permit System to streamline applications to minimize cost and time for potential housing developers and staff

Communication and education

We identified the following communication and education actions:

work with the Kenora District Services Board as Service Manager on the development of an incentive toolkit and promote any affordable housing programs provided by all levels of government
research innovative housing with partners to create a resource development of affordable housing
initiate or support a housing forum in which projects and available incentives are showcased alongside networking opportunities among stakeholders

Advocacy

The following advocacy actions were identified:

incorporate issues related to affordable housing into corporate advocacy efforts

Housing reports

The following housing studies and reports were used to inform the Enabling Affordable Housing Action Plan:

Why housing is important

According to a 2018 election survey, the following statistics and facts were identified based on housing:

220 people were identified as homeless
More people are using the emergency shelter as a primary residence
Business are dissatisfied with housing availability for workers
Seniors are the fastest growing demographic that are challenged looking for suitable housing

Our commitment

We believe that every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to occupancy of accommodation without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnicity, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status, disability or the receipt of public assistance. - Human Rights Commission