With the needs for more affordable housing continuing to grow, Grey Highlands council has reached out to Collingwood for inspiration and ideas.
Claire de Souza, the housing development coordinator for the Town of Collingwood, was a special guest council’s committee of the whole meeting on March 27. de Souza made a presentation about Collingwood’s efforts to increase affordable housing stock in the community.
The focus of de Souza’s presentation is Collingwood’s rapid accessory dwelling unit program, which has been set up to accelerate the creation of additional dwelling units on residential lots.
Additional dwelling units are secondary units added to a property with a primary residence. They can be basement apartments, additions to the home or separate smaller structures on the property.
De Souza explained that Collingwood has made strides toward encouraging the development of additional dwelling units in the community by implementing a number of initiatives to assist homeowners interested in pursuing the addition of a rental unit to their properties.
Collingwood has introduced grant funding (with funding also coming from Simcoe County), has implemented a “one window” approach to respond to all inquiries about additional dwelling units in an immediate and streamlined manner and has instituted a pilot program to create pre-approved designs for potential additional dwelling units that, if used, can speed up the process.
As a result, Collingwood has seen traction on additional dwelling units.
“We have seen some early success. We are seeing an uptake in these kinds of permits,” she said.
In 2022, Collingwood issued eight permits for additional dwelling units. In 2023, de Souza said the number has grown to 23. She also told council that Collingwood has approved 14 grants through its financial incentive program for additional dwelling units. In addition, Collingwood has also set aside serving units for smaller projects like additional dwelling units through its service allocation policy.
Coun. Nadia Dubyk said the presentation was great information for council to have.
“It’s a real treat to be able to learn from Collingwood as you’re fast-tracking additional dwelling units,” she said. Dubyk asked how Collingwood set up its grant program.
De Souza explained that Collingwood has a $350,000 affordable housing budget.
“We’re very fortunate we have a council that has made this a priority,” she said, adding that the grant program is the linchpin of Collingwood’s efforts. “The grant component is the key. Things are very expensive. If there are ways to alleviate those costs, we want to do it.”
De Souza said she receives inquiries about additional dwelling units every day and she also gets questions from other municipalities about Collingwood’s approach. She said Collingwood plans to continue improving the program.
“There is great interest and we want to build on the program,” she said. “We definitely want to keep it going. This is a good start. This is a priority for us.”
Members of council praised Collingwood’s approach and thanked de Souza for her presentation.
“On affordable housing, it seems like we sit around and talk and we don’t get anything done. It’s great you’ve actually done something. It’s wonderful,” said Coun. Paul Allen.
