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Committee to seek public input on Affordable Housing Needs Assessment

Council chambers of the County Court House where Lennox and Addington Council and Committee meetings are regularly held. Photo provided by Lennox and Addington County.
Ted Evans - CJAI - Stella • ON | 09-06-2023
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The Prince Edward-Lennox & Addington Social Services (PELASS) Committee will be looking for public input soon on their new Affordable Housing Needs Assessment.

The Affordable Housing Needs Assessment will help identify local housing needs within all municipalities served by PELASS: Addington Highlands, Stone Mills Township, Loyalist Township, the Town of Greater Napanee and Prince Edward County.

Affordable housing is normally something assessed within the committee, or respective councils, but an outside group will be hired this time around for a more detailed report. It is estimated that the assessment would cost a maximum of $15,000.

At the June 8 PELASS committee meeting, the committee approved a Request for Proposal to conduct an Affordable Housing Needs Assessment. The committee discussed housing needs, costs, and public input on the matter. The committee members also noted numerous cases of unaffordable rent and home ownership, a decrease in the number of affordable housing units available, and a rapid increase in homelessness.

Lynn Chenier, director of Social Services, said it was important to have the assessment documented to be able to move forward with addressing housing needs in the area.

"We really need all types of housing right across the spectrum, but we don't have anything tangible and document to provide to a funder, whether it's the province or the federal governments," said Chenier.

Scott Robertson, manager of Social Services, presented the report and mentioned how they plan to gain input from the public.

"Identifying key informants; people who would be thought of in the community as having valuable knowledge, but also having open community consultations; talking to people about what they envision being built, or probably more so, what they envision being the need," said Robertson.

PELASS owns and manages 421 local housing units and currently supports:

  • 159 rent supplement units
  • 11 transitional homes for homeless people
  • 255 non-profit housing units

PELASS also has 1,009 households currently on their waiting list for subsidized housing.

Staff will be notifying the public when information sessions and discussions regarding the Affordable Housing Needs Assessment are taking place.

Hear the CJAI story below:

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