Windsor mayoral candidate Fred Francis is promising to use city-owned land and financial incentives to get more affordable housing built.
Francis unveiled his housing plan Tuesday at the former Grace Hospital site, pointing to the vacant property as an example of land he believes the city could put to better use.
His plan includes packaging city-owned properties for development, waiving permit fees for affordable housing and offering tax incentives and grants.
“We will work with developers, incentivize them to build more affordable housing, have them hire local workforce to do it, and provide a community benefit package so surrounding neighbors can benefit from the build,” Francis said.
“That’s something I’ve learned about this term of council with respect to the Roseland build, having been the Ward 1 councillor there.”
Francis says his administration would also eliminate development charges in Ford City and historic Sandwich Town, while maintaining downtown Windsor as a development-charge-free area.
The plan would pre-zone the downtown core for greater density, eliminate parking minimums and expand online building and planning services.
Francis says Windsor’s housing needs show why the city has to move more quickly.
“Windsor needs 6,000 affordable homes by 2035, and we need 4,000 deeply affordable homes by 2035. We are nowhere near that target. We are nowhere near that target, and we’re losing time every single day,” Francis said.
Francis also wants future projects on city land to include neighbourhood input, with nearby residents helping identify community benefits such as parks, trees, recreational facilities or community centres.
He says the city should move away from what he describes as a shelter-focused response to homelessness.
“We’re no longer talking about a shelter first initiative, we’re talking about a housing first initiative, and my administration would make that shift on day one,” Francis said.
“We’ll move forward with more housing builds, more affordable housing builds, and we’ll make it affordable, easy, efficient, and reasonable for developers to do that, all while encouraging them to work local.”
Francis also pledged that the former Grace Hospital site would finally see activity during his term, saying Windsorites would see shovels in the ground and heavy machinery within four years.
The municipal election is October 26.
-With files from CTV Windsor’s Chris Campbell