I shared a lot of the draft report in Part One of this blog, but there's still more of the report to work through! So here's a few more key points as I see them.
The report outlines ‘how we got here’ resulting from interest and feedback from residents and it outlines several city strategic goals that align with affordable housing.
The report identifies some of the key findings of the city’s Needs Assessment completed earlier this year, including: the fact that housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable for more residents and poverty and core housing need is increasing in Kitchener. You can see the Needs Assessment report here.
From the report: “This has placed pressure on the rental market as people who would have purchased homes are staying in rental accommodation, because incomes have not increased in pace with increases in housing costs. Redevelopment has eliminated some of the affordable rental housing and replaced it with more condos and more expensive rental housing.”
“Renovictions, where tenants are displaced from their homes to allow major renovations or redevelopment to proceed, are not tracked or monitored for Kitchener. Housing held for investment is not tracked or monitored for Kitchener.” Both of these issues are identified as areas to now monitor and track.
“There is a correlation between the review/approval timeline for development applications and the affordability of housing units.” The city is also doing a Developmental Services review at this time that hopes to streamline these processes.
One example of improving such processes: “In fall 2020, staff will be working on the development of industry explainers/scorecards that explain how to get a passing score at various stages of the development process and will be reviewing file management practices and accountabilities.”
The draft report references the city’s interest (and recent council approval) in allowing inclusionary zoning as one more tool to create more affordable housing options.
More from the report: “Council addressed entering the discussion on resolving homelessness as a partner and not taking on sole responsibility. Council noted transformational change is needed. Instead of relying on shelters, housing should be provided with needed services for people.”
“Spending on homelessness has been reactive, to date. If it was done proactively it would help solve some of the homelessness issues. The City can be an effective advocate working with the Region.” This to me seems like an extremely important point and I look forward to more proactive approaches to increasing access to affordable housing.
The city offered an Engage Kitchener online survey on Affordable Housing. Some takeaways from that survey: collaboration is essential; need more diverse housing options; and need a people-centred approach.
The report outlines how COVID put new and additional pressures on existing models of shelter options for those experiencing homelessness. They highlight House of Friendship’s Shelter Care model and what’s been happening with A Better Tent City on Lot 42. You can read more about both of these models on pages 26-27 of the draft strategy.
From the report: “The Region of Waterloo has indicated they want to work in collaboration with municipal and community partners on a “post-pandemic” plan to re-imagine the shelter system in order to better meet the diverse needs of people experiencing homelessness. This will include identifying immediate, mid-term and longer-term housing options and supports.”
Included in the report is this quotation: “This pandemic has shown that governments can solve homelessness” from Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, April 2020.
The report recognizes the role of international law and the right to housing: “Canada committed to the United Nations that we would “recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living… including adequate food, clothing and housing.”
“Housing strategies aimed at addressing homelessness and increasing access to affordable housing in Ontario must be consistent with international human rights obligations, the Code and applicable human rights principles.”
Not In My BackYard arguments are identified as problematic and concerning, resulting in harm and delays. “NIMBY opposition to affordable or supportive housing projects, and the impact of this on tenants, housing providers and society as a whole is not conducive to a just and sustainable society.”
The report again reiterates the need for an Equity and Inclusion lens for housing, and notes that housing can serve as a safety net, fending off many other issues such as economic instability and well-being.
The guiding principles on ‘how we get there’ include: housing as a human right; people-focused (who’s most impacted?); equity, diversity, and inclusion principles; explicitly anti-racist and anti-discriminatory; realistic timelines and achievable goals.
The proposed strategic actions include: meeting needs; what the city can do; working together; being informed and informing; implementation and work plan.
The report ends with an appendix that includes defining terms and a glossary as well as references for the document. And that's the full summary of the report. For additional ways to engage with this information, visit Engage Kitchener. Thanks again for reading!