Newly announced federal funding is expected to help Chatham-Kent and Lakeshore build more than 500 new homes over the next three years.
The Government of Canada has announced that the two municipalities will receive over $17 million through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) — over $10 million for Chatham-Kent and $7 million for Lakeshore.
According to the federal government, the funding will help fast-track a combined total of 508 homes in the two communities over the next three years and 3,570 homes over the next decade.
“This funding announcement will be an excellent step to help build much-needed housing units and make them more affordable for Chatham-Kent residents. This will help to get shovels in the ground as myself, council and administration are doing everything we can, within our power, to get housing units built,” said Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff.
Chatham-Kent’s portion of the funding will support seven local initiatives such as allowing four units as-of-right in urban areas, encouraging the construction of Additional Dwelling Units, and enabling mixed-use developments of four or more stories along key corridors. The municipality will also be implementing an e-permitting system to create an online building permit and land use planning activity dashboard.
Chatham-Kent also plans to leverage municipally owned assets for affordable housing and reduce parking requirements for affordable and purpose-built rental housing.
“Access to housing, for all income levels, is essential to keep our community healthy, safe, and strong economically for our residents throughout the communities that make up the Municipality of Chatham-Kent,” said Canniff.
The HAF was created to cut red tape by ending restrictive zoning, speeding up permitting, and adding greater density to build more homes faster, at prices that Canadians can afford.
