Public Input Critical for Housing Master Plan
Creating a strong plan involves talking to the experts to gather the best information. Every resident in Timmins has important insight about what works, what doesn’t work, and what’s needed for housing in Timmins. Comments will be collected through public consultations and an online survey. Be sure to come out to the sessions and/or fill out the survey to have your say about housing matters.
Project Update
September 2013
Consultation Follow-up
At the September 30th Housing Community Consultation session, the consultants presented an informative slideshow to generate discussion.
Some facts that were highlighted in the presentation included:
- Timmins’ population declined since 1996 from 47,499 to 43,165 in 2011
- Timmins population is aging. In 2011, 27% of the population was 55+
- A recent study identified 720+ homeless people in Timmins
- More than 50% of the housing stock in Timmins was built prior to 1970
- Average resale house prices rose to $151,125 in 2012
- Average monthly rental price in Timmins is now $795
- 2013 rental vacancy rate in Timmins is 1.1%
- The Timmins’ social housing stock is comprised of 1122 units
- Nearly 25% of renter households cannot afford average market rents
For the full slideshow, please click here.
The questions that were discussed by consultation session attendees can be found on slide 53. Next steps are outlined on slide 55. (Refer to slideshow link, above)
Housing survey responses and the conversations resulting from the consultation session will be combined with the consultants’ research to generate strategies to address immediate and longterm housing issues in Timmins.
Community Consultation on Housing set for Sept. 30th
Phase 1 of the Timmins Community Housing Plan has been underway since late summer. The consulting team has been gathering information, analyzing data and meeting with key community stakeholders to hear their perspectives. Now it’s your opportunity – come and hear about findings to date and share your views on housing issues, priorities and solutions in Timmins.
This interactive session will be held Monday Sept. 30th at 3pm in the McIntyre Community Auditorium, 85 McIntyre Road in Schumacher. Click here for directions to this location.
To RSVP or get additional information, please contact Narmadha Rajakumar at: nrajakumar@shs-inc.ca.
Survey launched for public input on Housing
The City of Timmins and the Cochrane DSSAB are preparing a Community Housing Plan to support the Timmins 2020 Strategic plan and the CDSSAB 10 year Housing Plan. The plans will address the immediate and long-term housing needs in the City by:
- identifying the range of housing issues facing residents;
- evaluating current policies and practices aimed at addressing housing issues;
- developing potential tools and strategies to address housing needs
- putting forth an implementation plan to help guide proposed actions.
As part of our community consultation activities, the City is looking for your input on the housing issues facing individuals and families in Timmins as well as your ideas on how these needs can be addressed. To share your issues and ideas, please take our brief on-line survey – it will only take about 5 minutes to complete and will help ensure we hear your views on housing in Timmins.
For the English survey, click here.
Thanks for your interest in housing in Timmins. Should you have any questions regarding the survey, please contact Narmadha atnrajakumar@shs-inc.ca.
Background
Over the years, the City of Timmins has experienced economic cycles of both growth and decline, each of which have had impacts on the community, particularly in regard to housing needs. Despite local efforts, housing challenges continue in the face of these evolving conditions. At the same time, recent amendments to legislation require municipalities to now identify how they will address housing needs in their jurisdictions. As a result, the City is pursuing the development of a strategic, long term Community Housing Plan to help address local housing needs.
The Timmins Community Housing Plan is a key initiative of the Timmins 2020 Strategic Plan, especially in the areas of community investment and quality of life. During the 2020 consultation process, a number of local housing issues were identified:
- The lack of housing availability is having an impact on the community, it’s growth and its ability to attract new residents
- Major employers are having trouble recruiting workers due to the high cost of housing
- There is a shortage of trades to construct new housing and construction costs are high
- Affordable housing is scarce and social housing waiting lists are long
- There is no transitional housing for people in shelters and limited supportive housing for those seeking special needs housing
It’s clear that housing plays an important role in the daily life of residents and if people do not have a suitable and affordable place to live, they will not be able to thrive and participate in the community. Expanding the availability of housing and improving affordability will help to strengthen community investment and improve quality of life, both for existing and new residents.
The development of a 20 year Community Housing Plan is a key stepping stone towards this objective. In developing the Plan, the City will:
- Document current and future housing needs across the housing continuum
- Assess current housing supply and its ability to accommodate future needs
- Analyze gaps in supply vs. demand as well as underlying factors
- Identify opportunities, options and solutions that address housing gaps
In addition to setting out actions, the Community Housing Plan will identify priorities and next steps for implementation. Strategies for monitoring Plan progress and measuring its impact will also be included to help evaluate the effectiveness of actions going forward.
Developing the Plan
In order to develop the Community Housing Plan, the City has formed the Timmins Community Housing Committee (TCHC). This Committee is comprised of key stakeholders from The City of Timmins, the Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board (CDSSAB), the Timmins Chamber of Commerce, Timmins Native Friendship Centre and Timmins Economic Development Corporation. To assist in Plan development, the City has retained the services of an experienced consulting team – SHS Consulting and Re/fact Consulting. The Committee will oversee the development of the Plan with the assistance of the consulting team, ensuring that the process is inclusive and comprehensive.
Recent changes to legislation have set out municipal obligations for addressing housing needs and in the Timmins area, these obligations fall on the Cochrane DSSAB. The Cochrane DSSAB must submit a Housing and Homelessness Plan that:
- Assesses the community’s current and future housing and homelessness needs
- Establishes objectives and targets to meet local needs
- Describes the measures proposed to meet the objectives and targets
- Sets out performance measures that will show how objectives and targets will be measured
In developing the CHP, the City will work collaboratively with the Cochrane DSSAB to help ensure coordination on common housing issues and solutions.
The Process
To develop the Community Housing Plan, a comprehensive three phase work plan has been established which can be summarized as follows:
As part of the next step in the CHP process, issues, priorities and gaps identified in Phase 1 will be evaluated against current policies, programs and local initiatives. Options to address issues will be developed that leverage resources and build on local strengths and opportunities. From this, formal recommendations will be tabled that address housing issues in Timmins in the short, medium and longer term.
The final Phase will see the development of a formal Community Housing Plan which provides strategic housing direction for the next 20 years. The Plan will include practical recommendations for addressing issues and priorities by using municipal tools, partnerships and best practices. To help put the CHP into action, an implementation strategy will also be included in the work plan, setting out staging for tasks, identifying roles & responsibilities and flagging necessary resources.
Your Participation
Throughout the CHP process, there will be many opportunities for you to provide your input on issues, priorities and solutions. Make sure you take your opportunity to:
- Complete an assets & issues survey
- Read updates on the CHP web page
- Attend public consultation sessions
- Provide your feedback vie e-mail at TimminsHousingPlan@clearlogic.ca
