Township of Cramahe Affordable Housing Strategy
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Township of Cramahe Affordable Housing Strategy Final Report August 2019 Prepared by i Acknowledgement The Northumberland County Affordable Housing Strategy was undertaken on behalf of Northumberland County. We would like to thank Rebecca Carman, Lisa Horne, Angie Turpin, Marla Mahon, and Dwayne Campbell for their direction, input and assistance throughout the project. We would also like to thank the Affordable Housing Strategy Working Group members: David Sheffield, Mary Beth McNulty, Theodhora Merepeza, Glenn McGlashon, Jim Peters, Meaghan Macdonald, and Ruth Estwick for their input and assistance throughout the project. We would also like to thank municipal staff from all seven member municipalities for the information and input they provided. Finally, we would like to thank all the key housing stakeholders and all the Northumberland residents who participated in our engagement activities and provided valuable information and insights into affordable housing in the county. Project Team The Northumberland County Affordable Housing Strategy was prepared by SHS Consulting. The consulting team for this project was: Christine Pacini, Partner Johanna Hashim, Senior Consultant Jan van Deursen, Research Analyst Gelila Solomon, Financial Analyst SHS Consulting | County of Northumberland Affordable Housing Strategy ii Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Defining Affordable Housing ................................................................................................................ 2 2.0 Key Findings and Housing Gaps in Cramahe ................................................................................ 3 Key Findings ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Housing Gaps ...................................................................................................................................... 4 3.0 Cramahe Housing Strategy .......................................................................................................... 6 Role of the Municipality ...................................................................................................................... 6 Action Plan .......................................................................................................................................... 6 4.0 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 12 5.0 Appendix A: Recommended Northumberland Affordable and Rental Housing Pilot Program .. 13 6.0 Appendix B: Recommended Affordable Housing Targets ......................................................... 22 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 22 Housing Targets for Northumberland ................................................................................................ 22 Housing Targets for Member Municipalities ...................................................................................... 24 Monitoring the Targets...................................................................................................................... 25 7.0 Appendix C: Housing Policy Framework ................................................................................... 26 County Policy Framework .................................................................................................................. 26 Member Municipal Policy Framework ............................................................................................... 29 SHS Consulting | County of Northumberland Affordable Housing Strategy 1 1.0 Introduction The County of Northumberland initiated the development of an Affordable Housing Strategy in May 2018. The primary goal of this project was to develop a strategy with a focus on increasing the supply of rental housing at variety of affordability depths through a range of tools and incentives across Northumberland. The project was undertaken in two phases. The first phase involved an assessment of the housing needs and gaps along the housing continuum in Northumberland. This phase of the work also included a range of engagement activities to gain information on housing need and supply from Northumberland residents, people with lived experience, and key housing stakeholders. A total of sixteen engagement activities were undertaken as part of this work and in addition to presentations to County and member municipal councils. The second phase of the project involved a policy review of federal, provincial and County policies and strategies which form the framework for the development of housing in Northumberland. This phase also included developing recommended housing actions to address the key housing needs and gaps throughout Northumberland. The Township of Cramahe is one of the member municipalities in Northumberland. As part of the work on the Northumberland Affordable Housing Strategy, housing needs and gaps were identified for each member municipality, including Cramahe. Member municipal housing strategies were also developed to address the specific housing needs and gaps in each member municipality. These member municipal strategies build on the recommended housing actions in the Northumberland Affordable Housing Strategy. This report includes the key findings for the Township of Cramahe from the housing needs assessment, the results of the policy review which includes a review of the Township’s Official Plan, Zoning By-law and Strategic Plan, and a recommended action plan for addressing the key housing gaps in Cramahe. SHS Consulting | County of Northumberland Affordable Housing Strategy 2 Defining Affordable Housing The Northumberland County Official Plan (Sec. Figure 1: Affordable Price Thresholds: C1.5.4) as well as the Provincial Policy Northumberland County; 2018 Statement, 2014 define affordable housing as: In the case of ownership housing, the least expensive of: a) Housing for which the purchase price results in annual accommodation costs which do not exceed 30% of gross annual household income for low and moderate income households; or, b) Housing for which the purchase price is at least 10% below the average purchase price of a resale unit in the regional market area. In the case of rental housing, the least expensive of: a) A unit for which the rent does not exceed 30% of gross annual household income for low and moderate households; or b) A unit for which the rent is at or below the average market rent of a unit in the regional market area. Based on this definition, the affordable housing thresholds for Northumberland are $1,019 for rental housing and $316,190 for ownership housing. The rental threshold is the average market rent reported by CMHC and the ownership threshold is the maximum house price which households with moderate incomes can afford. These thresholds also define what affordable housing is in Cramahe as Northumberland is the regional market area. SHS Consulting | County of Northumberland Affordable Housing Strategy 3 2.0 Key Findings and Housing Gaps in Cramahe Key Findings The following is a summary of the findings from the housing needs assessment and the key housing gaps identified specifically for Cramahe. Please refer to the Northumberland Affordable Housing Strategy for a more detailed housing needs assessment for Northumberland as a whole as well as for each of the member municipalities, including Cramahe. Housing Need and Supply • Cramahe grew at a similar, but slightly higher, rate compared to Northumberland as a whole. The population grew by 6.8% (vs. 5.7% for Northumberland) and the number of households increased by 13.7% (vs. 13.1%). • Cramahe had a higher share of the younger age groups and lower share of seniors compared to Northumberland although the population aged 55 years and older saw much higher rates of growth. Similar trends were seen for households where older adults aged 55 to 64 years and seniors aged 65 years and older saw significantly higher rates of increase from 2006 to 2016. Households aged 25 to 34 also increased at a higher rate compared to the total households but all other age groups saw a decrease in numbers. • Cramahe has a smaller share of small households (64.4% vs. 68.0%) compared to Northumberland as a whole and a larger share of households with four or more persons (20.9% vs. 17.8%). • Couples without children make up the largest proportion of households (35.8%) in the Township but this proportion is slightly lower than the share in Northumberland as a whole. In contrast couples with children make up 25.7%, which is higher than that in Northumberland (23.3%). Cramahe also has a higher share of multiple and other family households and households with a member with a cognitive disability and/or mental health issue while persons living alone and seniors make up a smaller share compared to Northumberland as a whole. In addition, renters in Cramahe make up 17.5% of all households, which is lower than in Northumberland (18.9%). • The Township also has a lower average household income ($88,045) than Northumberland but has very similar rates of households with low, moderate, and high incomes (29.8%, 2.2%, and 40.9% respectively). Cramahe also has a lower unemployment rate (6.9% vs. 7.3%) and higher participation