More changes to the rules about housing types allowed in town could be coming down the pipe in an effort to improve housing affordability in Collingwood.
During an affordable housing workshop at the Collingwood Public Library on May 13 put on by the Town of Collingwood and the town’s affordable housing task force, about 45 residents gathered for a community conversation about possible changes to the town’s zoning bylaw, that could improve the cost of housing.
“It’s a well-known fact that any change in a municipality brings forth NIMBYism (not in my backyard). Change is hard,” Marg Scheben-Edey, a member of the town’s affordable housing task force, told attendees. “The reality is, we need to make changes to address the issue of affordable housing.”
“What we need in Collingwood is more YIMBYs. Yes, in my backyard.”
Currently, to help improve housing affordability, the town is zeroing in on changes to the town’s zoning bylaw, as was recommended through the town’s first-ever affordable housing master plan, completed late last year.
A zoning bylaw controls the use of land in a community. It lays out how land can be used, where buildings can be located, the types and forms of buildings and how buildings can be used. The purpose of having a zoning bylaw is to ensure new development is compatible with existing communities.
Changes to Collingwood’s zoning bylaw could include allowing fourplexes on residential lots, reducing or eliminating parking minimums for new development and changing what is permitted on land zoned as community space, such as churches, to possibly allow residential housing to be built on those lands.
The town’s housing coordinator Claire de Souza told attendees that the town cannot control the cost or affordability of a unit through zoning.
Under current town zoning rules which were last updated in 2010, three residential units are permitted on one lot (one main unit and two accessory units), and there are no standards for multiplexes. Parking minimums are one space per dwelling unit for an apartment building, plus 0.25 spaces per unit for visitor parking. For a residential lot, the requirement is two spaces for the main unit, and one space for each accessory unit on the property. Community spaces such as churches or community centres are zoned as community services, and the town currently does not permit residential development on those lands.
While feedback on allowing fourplexes was generally positive, one attendee wondered whether area schools would be able to keep up with the corresponding growth it could bring.
Regarding parking requirements, many attendees agreed that allowing a reduction needs to be tied to improving town transit so vehicles aren’t a requirement for living in Collingwood. Some suggested giving a free short-term town transit pass to new residents, or only allowing a reduction in a parking requirement if a developer can demonstrate what they’re building is adjacent to a transit route. Others suggested a formalized system whereby businesses with extra parking spots on their property could rent them to those in need of parking.
Resident Valerie Bolton attended Monday’s session and spoke about how important affordable housing is to the vitality of Collingwood as a community.
“If we don’t start doing something to provide housing to people, we won’t have people working in service here,” said Bolton. “We got some good ideas here. There were some things that everyone felt the same way about.”
Kathy Benson said she learned at the session that there isn’t a square footage requirement for a new unit.
“Let’s start building small homes that you hear about in other communities. I’m excited about that,” she said.
Jason McGill said his own curiosity led to him attending Monday’s session. He said in the future, he’d like to see Collingwood OPP participate in these discussions to offer their perspective.
“I learned that there’s very little that’s not on the table to help solve this issue, and that’s good to hear,” he said. “It’s neat to see this compassionate side come out of people. I’m optimistically cautious.”
All feedback received during Monday’s session will be included in recommendations made by staff to council on the town’s zoning bylaw amendments, which are expected to come to council in July.
For more information about the town’s affordable housing efforts, or to provide feedback if you missed the workshop, click here.
