Planning & Partnerships for Affordable Housing
Affordable housing has been a hot topic recently. Being brought to the headlines by the Housing Affordability Task Force Report, amplified by the Bill 109 More Homes for Everyone Act, and the advocacy of professionals across many industries (including planners!), the public is certainly well aware of this topic.
We thought it might be interesting to share what planning for affordable housing looks like at LandPro.
Q: How is LandPro adapting its practice to share the need for affordable housing?
LandPro has been following the ongoing housing crisis in Ontario, and watching its impacts on smaller communities across the Niagara, Haldimand and Norfolk areas where we do much of our work. Like others in our industry, we believe it’s up to us to figure out ways of streamlining the planning process so that quality projects can get built and families can get into homes.
Internally, this looks like having regular sessions to educate and strategize as a team, on a variety of topics. We had a great session on the impact of the Affordable Housing Task Force Report and Bill 109 on our industry in May. These ideas have factored into some of our recent projects, especially as we work with clients who are designing communities on larger scales.
Externally, this looks like blogs and other social media posts which communicate our commitment and help our clients understand the shifting nature of residential development in Ontario.
Q: You have a partnership with Habitat for Humanity Niagara? What has that experience been like?
Yes, we do! Our partnership formally began in 2021, when we built on some volunteering with Habitat and turned it into an opportunity for us to give back professionally. It’s been hugely important for us to build this relationship, bridging our expertise across planning and community building interests.
As planners, we know that developers can find it difficult to manage the timelines, budget, and requirements of your project. For example, it can be frustrating when a municipality comes back to an application with additional requirements, especially when it can add thousands of dollars to an application. Seeing these barriers up-close from Habitat's perspective has been a good experience, as it's helped us to understand where the development process can also be a barrier in producing non-profit solutions to the ongoing housing crisis.
That’s why we do the initial work for Habitat Niagara pro bono (no charge). Once we begin the municipal process, it’s in Habitat Niagara’s best interest to play the developer role (with LandPro as the agent). Should a project not go as “planned”, LandPro is there to defend Habitat professionally. And of course, we take time to volunteer for Build Days and support other programs financially.
Q: What’s the best part about this type of work?
Definitely seeing our projects come to fruition! Technical work is needed to make affordable housing projects happen, which is normally hidden from the public eye. While every project begins with a site visit, they always end at a podium in front of the Municipal Council. We don't often get the chance to see the finished, built project, let alone participate in the construction phase. We also rarely get to meet the people who live in our projects, so engaging through Habitat Niagara is a rare treat.
Not true at the Cedar Street Build, however! LandPro met up in Welland this past May for our first Habitat Build Day. We dug in, got dirty, and had a blast on-site. And we took property lines seriously, putting together a good-looking and well-placed fence in just a few hours. It was a welcome day off from looking at bylaws and reports, but the biggest reward was meeting the families that we were building for.
Adam recently attended the Home Dedication Ceremony on our behalf, where the new residents will receive the keys to their new homes. We’re so excited that Jodielynn and her daughter, and Jim and Tara and their children, will be able to move in this summer. With the success of this project in view, we can’t wait to help others through the results of good planning!
Q: Can you share what comes next for Habitat Niagara & LandPro?
We can’t share the details yet! But what we can tell you is that we regularly set aside time to work on Habitat projects. As our partnership grows, we continue to explore several locations that may provide increased density and missing middle options across the Niagara region in the next five years. And we hope to keep working with communities to make them happen.
Of note is that LandPro is sending a foursome to Habitat’s golf tournament, Fore the Build, just as much for fundraising as for the golfing fun! That’s on August 25.
Basically, you’ll be seeing a lot more of us doing affordable housing work across the Niagara Region. And we look forward to it!
