Vacancy rates, inflationary pressures, affordability, and projected growth in the mining and mining service sectors have made adequate housing a critical challenge for City Council. Over the past several months, work has been done to identify barriers to sustainable housing and strategies to stimulate housing growth in Timmins. City Council has now given the green light on a Housing Action Plan that will begin to put strategy into action.
The City’s Housing Action Plan builds on the Timmins Economic Development Corporation’s (TEDC) Community Housing Taskforce Recommendations to Council report, presented last September. The plan recommends eight city-led actions to address the current and future housing needs of Timmins. Recommendations include intensification and park rationalization studies, adjustments to the current zoning bylaw, and developing a Housing Community Improvement Program (CIP) to encourage the creation of new residential units. The plan supports a range of housing options through subdivision development, infill and regeneration, and purpose-built housing.
“Housing was identified as a key priority of Council,” says Mayor Michelle Boileau. “We know that in order to take advantage of the opportunities in mining and related industries, we need to grow our skilled labour force. According to the Far Northeast Training Board, there is a projected growth of 3,629 positions by 2029. We need to start addressing the housing challenges now to help support recruitment, development, and economic growth.”
The Housing Action Plan is a key planning tool for the upcoming 2025 budget, and will be used to advocate for provincial funding for housing initiatives at this year’s Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference coming up in August.
“We have a clear plan on how we can move forward on our housing priority,” adds Mayor Boileau. “It’s important that the province sees that we’re focused on sustainable solutions that will build up our housing supply and support future growth.”
City of Timmins Housing Action Plan 2024: https://bit.ly/4bHuGOi
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