Bruce County council endorsed a Housing Action Plan at last week's meeting, designed to help address supply and impact affordable housing locally.
The plan outlined 25 actions staff will undertake over the next two years to help increase housing options for all income levels.
The County says the actions focus on six different areas of practice including: research; policy development; new programs; incentives; engagement and advocacy for investment in housing solutions to meet the unique needs of the region.
One of those steps will be making an inventory of all surplus municipal lands that could be developed on.
Claire Dodds, Commissioner of Community Development, said that County-owned lands currently don't offer any options.
"We have done a cursory inventory of county lands and there are no vacant lands at this time available for affordable housing," she said. "If there was any project that would come forward on County lands, it would either need to be worked in with an existing facility or we would potentially need to look at acquisition of lands."
Deputy Warden Luke Charbonneau asked whether public-private partnerships on housing were being explored, but Dodds said something like that would be further down the line.
"This plan is really focused on starting to grow that non-profit relationship, understand that relationship and interest with developers, set the stage for things like surplus land, putting a framework in place for incentives that will essentially form the foundation that could influence the success of a program such as a public-private build."
In Bruce County, the affordable housing thresholds for 2024 were rents below $1,383 per month and ownership costs below $377,300.
“The Housing Action Plan not only provides a realistic look at the current state of housing in Bruce County but focuses the County’s capacity to take action on several parallel initiatives on housing," said Chris Peabody, Warden of Bruce County. "Bruce County is focused on finding ways that we can work with our municipal partners, Saugeen Ojibway Nation Environment Office and Indigenous Serving Organizations, non-profit and private developers, and other levels of government to increase the supply of housing and impact its affordability in Bruce County."
The full Housing Action Plan can be found on the County's website.
