Tag Archives: Waterloo City Council

CKMS News -2024-06-26- Waterloo approves affordable housing tax exemption, extending regional program

CKMSNews-2024-06-26-CKMS News -2024-06-26- Waterloo approves affordable housing tax exemption, extending regional program

dan kellar
Waterloo, ON – On June 24th, Waterloo council voted unanimously to approve the city’s Affordable Housing Property Tax Exemption Program, extending a regional program which was approved earlier this year. After the vote, Waterloo Mayor Doroty McCabe said the program “will make a real difference in our community”. 

The program exempts owners of affordable housing units from paying property taxes on the properties, provided that at least 30% of the units in a building are affordable, and that the affordable rents must be provided for a term of 60 years, or the remaining useful life of the building.  

This show features clips from the June 24th council meeting, primarily of the single delegate, Sean Campbell the executive director of Union Co-op, an organisation which operates two buildings in Kitchener with affordable units. Campbell supports the new by-law, noting it would make it easier to bring more buildings into community ownership and provide even more “permanent affordability”.

Waterloo resident battles the perfectly manicured lawn

Waterloo City is moving closer to loosening restrictions on front lawn grass, making way for increased naturalization.

After three years of responding to neighbours’ complaints about the length of her grass to bylaw, Waterloo resident Masha Kuznetsova asked Waterloo City Council on Monday night  for changes to Bylaw No. 2011-123, the Lot maintenance bylaw.

She asked the city to increase grass height of up to 40 cm (15.7 inches) and to reduce the requirement for a buffer strip around a naturalized area. Currently in the city of Waterloo, the maximum allowed grass height is 20 cm (8 inches). While the current buffer strip regulation is 1 metre, proposed changes to the by-law would reduce the buffer strip to 30 cm (11.8 inches).

Staff explained they receive about 400-800 long grass complaints per season.

Also in the meeting the city’s transportation services presented new boulevard garden guidelines which will allow for increased naturalization in lawns and on boulevards throughout the City of Waterloo. In addition, the city parks department kicked off the park’s urban forest management strategy by examining rules regarding trees on private property.

Listen to the story above: