Tag Archives: affordable housing

CKMS News – 2023-12-22- Cambridge council votes against investigating affordable home builds above city parking lots

CKMSNews-2023-12-22-Cambridge Rejects Affordable Housing in Parking Lots Study

by: dan kellar

Cambridge – Joined by 4 city councilors on December 19th, Cambridge mayor Jan Liggett voted against a motion to investigate the plausibility building affordable housing in raised buildings above city owned parking lots.

The motion, brought forward by ward 7 councilor Scott Hamilton was supported by all the delegates who presented at the meeting including resident Matthew Rodgers, the advocacy groups “Citizens for Cambridge”, “For the City”, and “Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard”, and as stated by councilor Earnshaw, the Cambridge Business Improvement Association was also on board.

Despite strong support for the motion from delegates, and the voting support of councilors Kimpson, Earnshaw,  Roberts, and Hamilton, the motion was ultimately defeated, wIth Mayor Liggett suggesting churches should be converting their own parking lots for housing.  Before calling the vote, Liggett stated that voting “no” does not mean that a councilor is against building affordable housing.

Waterloo Region all-councils meeting ends a difficult year on a note of hope

This year has been another year full of frustration, if not outright despair, for housing in Waterloo Region. But at the all-councils meeting on December 15, Build Now Waterloo Region offered some hope.

Build Now Waterloo Region is a new local collaboration of for-profit and not-for profit groups which was announced back in July.  The objective of the coalition is to build 10,000 non-market and perpetually non-profit homes by 2030.

Philip Mills, the chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region, one of the central players in this initiative, updated the all-council’s meeting on this ground-breaking project.

Of these 10,000 homes, 7,000 will be available for purchase and 3,000 will be available for rent.  A one bedroom home is set to sell for $280,000, a two bedroom for $330,000 and a three bedroom for $400,000. This project will specifically prevent ‘flipping,’ investment property acquisition, or other profit-seeking schemes.

CKMS News -2023-12-15- First stage of approvals for housing development on former Kraus Flooring factory site

CKMS News – 2023-12-15 – First stage of approvals for housing development on former Kraus Flooring factory site

by: dan kellar

Waterloo – On December 11th, following discussion, presentations, and legal clarifications, the first stages of a 12-tower development on the former Kraus Flooring factory lands in North Waterloo were approved through a unanimous vote from city councilors. With support for the project and the necessary changes to the site’s zoning and by-laws, the developer can move further into project planning.  

This show features clips from the council meeting, focusing on updates to the original 2021 site plan, the status of a pedestrian bridge over the adjacent highway, and questions about promises for affordable and attainable housing in this purpose built rental development which features a proposed total of 5,452 bedrooms in 3,353 residential units.

Delegates included site owner Richard Boyer of 65 Northfield Drive Inc, consultant Chris Pidgeon of GSP Group, and Waterloo resident Ashwin Annamalai. Councilors Hanmer, Bodaly, Roe, Freeman, and Vasic also spoke, as did Mayor McCabe.

The people versus a developer: Kitchener City Council defers tough decision

The rental housing crisis was on full display in front of Kitchener City Council on Monday night.

A proposed 13-storey mixed-use building at 93-99 Benton Street and 39-43 St. George Street, within the Cedar Hill neighbourhood in Kitchener, would offer 96 new units but would also demolish the 13 current affordable units, evicting the current tenants.

Eric Schneider, Senior Planner at the City of Kitchener laid out what the developer is asking for and the arrangements with the current residents.

The applicant, Ideal Capital Limited from Mississauga, a self-proclaimed ‘premium’ real estate developer, answered Council’s questions and, after their request, indicated he would meet with residents.

Thirteen delegates asked Council to reject this proposal. Delegates included three representatives from a local tenants’ rights group (ACORN WR), several current residents of the townhouses, and neighbours from the Cedar Hill community.

Against several of the delegates’ wishes, City Council chose to defer their decision until the January 22, 2024 meeting.

 

Listen to the show above:

CKMS News – Kitchener City Council takes advantage of extra time and defers lodging home motion

CKMS News – 2023-11-07 – Kitchener City Council takes advantage of extra time and defers lodging home motion

Lodging home licensing is on the way in Kitchener, but at Monday night’s council meeting, council took the opportunity to defer the motion until March 2024.

At last week’s council meeting, on October 30, a motion to remove restrictions on lodging houses was deferred. Councillor Bill Ioannidis introduced the deferral after questioning if fourplex apartments are a better option overall to increase affordability and if a pilot study would be a better approach to roll out licensing.

In response to those questions, at this week’s meeting, delegate Phil Marfisi noted how lodging homes differ from fourplex apartments, and that lodging homes do not require much in the way of preparation and can be occupied without additional construction or renovation. Because of this, Marfisi said, lodging homes can be a more economical mode of housing. Marfisi also explained how a lodging house pilot study would not meet the urgency of the crisis and would impede the delivery of this needed housing.

A second delegate, Lynn Intini, presented a description of lodging home residents and how the plan integrates with the city of Kitchener’s overall housing plan. She also pointed out that exclusionary zoning bylaws can have human rights implications if it restricts where people can live.

Council was informed on Monday night that the bylaw will be back in March 2024. Councillor Scott Davey moved to defer the lodging house motion as nothing would be able to be enacted until the lodging house licensing bylaw was ready anyway. Councillor Jason Deneault agreed with the deferral and noted that by deferring, more research can be done into issues such as short-term rentals that overlap and influence the affordable rental market.

You can listen to the show above

 

CKMS News – 2021-08-14 – Supporting Youth through the housing crisis in KW – Part 2

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Host: Sherice Alishaw

The housing crisis leads to more barriers for the marginalized individuals within our community. Residents are facing an affordable housing crisis in Waterloo region. The low income housing waitlist is almost 6 years until you are able to be offered a unit. Marginalized members of this community are struggling to find and maintain stable housing in this region. 

On this episode of CKMS News, we interview Sandy Dietrich-Bell, CEO of OneROOF a youth shelter in Kitchener. Part 2 of the interview focuses on some solutions to the housing crisis and the barriers that youth  face while trying to obtain stable housing.

This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant project and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada and the CKMS Newsroom. 

Check out the archived versions of this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news, and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca

You can follow us on twitter @radiowaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca

CKMS News – 2021-08-12 – Supporting Youth through the housing crisis in KW – Part 1

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Host: Sherice Alishaw

The housing crisis leads to more barriers for the marginalized individuals within our community. Residents are facing an affordable housing crisis in Waterloo region. The low income housing waitlist is almost 6 years until you are able to be offered a unit. Marginalized members of this community are struggling to find and maintain stable housing in this region. 

On this episode of CKMS News, we interview Sandy Dietrich-Bell, CEO of OneROOF a youth shelter in Kitchener. We discuss the barriers that marginalized members of our community face while trying to obtain stable housing as well as how the community can come together for a solution to this housing crisis. 

This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant project and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada and the CKMS Newsroom. 

Check out the archived versions of this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news, and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca

You can follow us on twitter @radiowaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca

CKMS News – 2021-05-26 – The Mapping Displacement project and the loss of affordable housing in Kitchener and Waterloo

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Host: Melissa Bowman

In today’s episode, we will hear from Faryal Diwan and William Turman who have been involved with a recent report highlighting issues around displacement locally. The Mapping Displacement project was conducted in collaboration with the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region and the University of Waterloo. The project explored lived experiences of displacement due to gentrification and development in the core areas of Kitchener and Waterloo.

Through their work, the Social Development Centre is helping highlight what can often be invisible to many of us – residents being displaced through demolitions of buildings, renovations and renovictions. Their latest report shares stories from those in our community who have been displaced and offers recommendations on how that data can help shape our community as we grow.

This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant program and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.

Check out the archived versions of  this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news., and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca.

You can  follow us on twitter @RadioWaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca

CKMS News – 2021-04-04 – Waterloo Region Weekly Roundup

Host: Melissa Bowman

In this episode we’ll take a bit of a tour through much of the region! I’ll share updates about a proposed development in New Hamburg that was met with some resistance from neighbours. There are many housing updates from Kitchener council including a unique partnership with the YWCA for new supportive housing. The Region also discussed housing as they approved a new development with an estimated 50 affordable housing units for the Beechwood neighbourhood. And finally, we will hear some updates from Waterloo council and the work they are doing on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant program and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.

Check out the archived versions of  this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news., and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca.

You can  follow us on twitter @RadioWaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca

CKMS News – 2021-03-18 – Waterloo Region Weekly Roundup 8

Host: Melissa Bowman

In this episode we’ll hear updates on the community working group on the vaccine rollout and the latest decisions at this month’s Regional Council meeting. Kitchener had some committee meetings on March 8th and we’ll take a closer look at their discussions on the Regional Official Plan review and how it could impact Kitchener specifically. It wouldn’t be a Waterloo Region Weekly Round-up episode if we didn’t discuss housing, so I’ll share a bit from the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation’s recent Do More Good Dialogue on the Intersection of Housing and Race.

This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant program and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.

Check out the archived versions of  this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news., and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca.

You can  follow us on twitter @RadioWaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca

CKMS News – 2021-02-22 – Waterloo Region Weekly Roundup

Host: Melissa Bowman

In this week’s episode, we will once again update on some of the affordable housing issues that local municipalities are involved in. The Region of Waterloo council shared an update about where things currently stand since approving the closure of the 5 regionally-operated children’s centres. 

Also, communities that are racialized and/or marginalized have been impacted more deeply by this pandemic. I’ll share an update from a recent regional council public health board meeting that discussed this issue and some of the plans stemming from that meeting. 

This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant program and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.

Check out the archived versions of  this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news., and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca.

You can  follow us on twitter @RadioWaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca

CKMS News – 2021-02-01 – Waterloo Region Weekly Roundup

Host: Melissa Bowman

Last week’s episode of the Waterloo Region Weekly Round-up was left as a bit of a cliff-hanger of sorts as we looked at all of the meetings leading up to Regional Budget Day. This week’s episode dives into that budget meeting and examines where several items ended up, including the much discussed police budget.

This episode also digs into the Housing for All: Rally for Change event hosted by MPP Laura Mae Lindo on January 21st. Plus, I’ll have a couple of quick updates from local council meetings including Kitchener’s 2-hour discussion about windows and Waterloo’s transportation master plan.

This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant program and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.

Check out the archived versions of  this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news., and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca.

You can  follow us on twitter @RadioWaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca

CKMS News – 2020-12-28 – Waterloo Region Weekly Roundup

Host: Melissa Bowman

Today’s episode has a few updates on local council and public meetings including the region’s recent public input budget session and Cambridge’s State of the City year in review video.

However, the majority of today’s show focuses on the issue of affordable housing. Given the recent approval of Kitchener’s Housing For All Strategy and both Waterloo and Kitchener proceeding with Inclusionary Zoning, I take a closer look at these policies and council decisions.

This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant program and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.

Check out the archived versions of  this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news., and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca.

You can  follow us on twitter @RadioWaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca