The city plans to update its tool kit for encouraging the development of affordable housing through proposed changes to the Housing Development Incentives Policy, the City Grant-Making Policy and the Fees and Charges Bylaw.

The goal is to manage costs while tightening the focus on affordable housing. Formal approval of most of the proposed changes is expected next week.

“I think it is important that we update this policy now,” said Coun. Dan Boyd, who chaired the Development Services Committee discussion Monday night.

“It’s intended to help correct dysfunctional housing markets, and we’re seeing some success with it.”

The incentives policy, on the books since 2012, has contributed to the development of 770 rental/supportive units and 395 market units in the city through $3.725 million worth of tax grants, cash grants and reduced development fees.

The time has come to reduce the costs and the administrative burden of the incentives policy, Kinden Kosick, the subdivision lands co-ordinator, said in his briefing to councillors on Monday. Proposed changes to the policy include:

• Eliminating incentives for market housing;

• Placing restrictions on units that benefited from the incentive from being subdivided into condominiums;

• Implementing an overall funding cap of about $650,000, starting next year, with applications for the incentive awarded on a first-come-first-served basis; and

** Switching to a $2,000 per eligible unit annual grant rather than determining a value based on tax assessment.

The Grant-Making Policy amendments would increase the annual grant cap to $60,000 from $50,000 per organization.

It would also allow organizations providing non-market, rental and/or supportive housing to apply several times throughout the year, instead of just once.

The Fees and Charges Bylaw amendments would put in new, modest application fee charges for several housing categories under the incentives policy, as well as amend or delete a couple.

A new Tipping Fee Grant drew the most comment from councill members.

As proposed, it would offset 25 per cent of the cost of tipping fees, subject to an annual funding cap of $100,000, and be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

It is intended to encourage development on lots where boarded-up buildings downtown currently stand.

“I really like the concept of this, but I think we have the opportunity – thanks to the federal Housing Accelerator Fund – to move forward on a number of the abandoned buildings in the downtown core,” said Coun. Ted Laking.

“I worry that a cap on tipping fee grants won’t be enough to fully incentivize housing development on all of these properties.”

Boyd acknowledged that tipping fees account for a big chunk of the cost of demolishing a building.

On the other hand, construction waste fills up the landfill quickly, and it is very expensive to expand the site.

Council members agreed to ask city administration to look what would be involved in enhancing the Tipping Fee Grant, both for cost and effectiveness.

Rather than hold up formal approval of all of the proposed changes to the Development Incentives Program, they agreed to consider severing the Tipping Fee Grant from the package next week, depending on what the research shows.

The proposed changes were discussed earlier with several city committees, developers, and at last Thursday’s 2024 Housing Summit, Kosick said.

Mayor Laura Cabott noted that council reviews the development incentives program every few years, adjusting it as needed to reflect the market.