Lakeshore is putting the money received through the federal government's Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to use.
Last month, the municipality received $7.4 million over four years in HAF funding, which encourages and supports initiatives aimed at increasing housing supply.
In a partnership agreed to at Tuesday night's council meeting, the University of Windsor's Centre for Cities (C4C) was tasked with looking at Lakeshore's entire housing development process and coming up with recommended streamlined solutions.
The municipality has allocated $2,119,962 towards C4C as they work closely with Lakeshore officials on a number of housing initiatives agreed to on Tuesday night.
- 1. Community Design CharetteFacilitate workshops with developers, architects, Council and residents to co-create a vision for sustainable and inclusive residential development in Lakeshore.
- 2. As-of-right zoning along primary corridors and in urban coresBased on the results of the design charettes, update zoning regulations to allow for mid- and high-density residential zones, enabling multi-unit residential development above commercial properties. Coordinate with operations plans for providing municipal servicing.
- 3. Housing Supportive Community Improvement PlansDevelop a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) to provide financial incentives for missing middle and affordable housing projects.
- 4. Affordable Housing Strategy - Update and ImplementRevise the 2016 Affordable Housing Strategy, setting targets for attainable and affordable housing development.
- 5. Municipal Land InventoryIdentify and assess municipally owned lands for potential use in housing initiatives and public-private partnerships
- 6. Pattern Book - Standard Design GuidelinesDevelop a "Pattern Book" featuring standardized building designs for additional residential units, townhouses, and multiplexes.
- 7. Housing Acceleration Project TeamEstablish a dedicated project team to manage housing acceleration initiatives, including planning, approvals, and infrastructure coordination. Add additional Engineering and Policy Planning to ensure that the housing applications are processed to meet the 898 housing units target.
- 8. Gentle Density through Official Plan and Zoning By-law UpdatesPrepare zoning and policy changes to allow for four residential units as-of-right in all residential zones.
- 9. Housing Needs AssessmentConduct a comprehensive housing needs assessment to guide future policy and grant applications.
Lakeshore's HAF program housing supply target is 898 projected net new housing units, which must be achieved within the four years, or by Q1 of 2029.
Lakeshore seeks to have 160 net new housing units built in 2026, 265 in 2027, and 473 in 2028.
Annual reports to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation are required.