City eyes expanded rental density, affordable unit pilot

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This article was published 16/11/2023 (702 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Eligible developers could soon be allowed to build more units in rental housing projects — if they’re willing to include a minimum number of affordable ones.

City of Winnipeg staff are recommending a new residential density bonus pilot program.

“We need more rental supply, more rent-geared-to-income and this is a way to get it in a more formalized way,” said Coun. Sherri Rollins, chairwoman of council’s property and development committee.

Rollins said the idea has already had informal success in attracting more affordable housing through civic discussions with developers, which this would build upon.

If council approves, the pilot program would require eligible developers to set a minimum percentage of units that must have affordable rents for at least 20 years. The city would aim to ensure that component accounts for at least 20 per cent of all dwellings, though exact numbers would be based on the circumstances of each project.

A minimum of 50 per cent of all units that exceed the normal number of dwellings allowed, which varies by zone, would be required to be affordable.

Current rules cap dwelling units to 121 per acre in a residential multi-family large zone and 218 per acre in a transit-oriented development zone.

“These are projects without funding from any level of government… private developers can include affordable units in their developments where it makes economic sense to do so,” said Rollins.

The councillor said enticing developers to create both affordable and market rate rental units within the same project, and throughout different areas of the city, would help prevent low-income units from being limited to just a few neighbourhoods.

“A lot of concerns happen, in particular, in the downtown core. Poverty is really centralized there… Programs like this can really help ameliorate (that),” said Rollins.

The proposed program calls for affordable housing units to be built primarily along rapid transit and other key corridors, though projects in other areas would be considered at a developer’s request.

Rollins said this would add another tool to trigger affordable housing development. The city previously reduced parking requirements for affordable homes and has applied for $192 million from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund, which could help add more than 1,300 affordable housing units.

According to a member of the Winnipeg Construction Association, the idea is worth exploring.

“I think this is definitely worthy of a pilot… It may push projects into viability that were otherwise not viable, from a financial perspective, and, perceivably, it will increase the stock of affordable units,” said Darryl Harrison, director of stakeholder engagement.

Christina Maes Nino, executive director of the Manitoba Non-Profit Housing Association, said the changes could provide one tool to add affordable housing, but much more work is needed.

“(These) units tend to be affordable only so long as they’re required to be affordable… (Then) they go to market rates,” said Maes Nino. “It can be a tool that the city uses, but I wouldn’t say it’s the primary thing we should be focusing on.”

She said Winnipeg desperately needs deeply affordable housing, meaning homes that can be rented for $900 per month or less.

“Money is really what we need… The cost of development is just simply higher than what a low-income person can pay for rent right now, so there does need to be government subsidies available to get (housing units) built at that deeply affordable level.”

Maes Nino suggested the city also acquire land and prepare it for development, addressing all zoning changes and other preliminary work, then transfer it to non-profit housing providers.

“A non-profit doesn’t have the financial means to take a risk on purchasing land and seeing if it might be possible to develop on in three years.”

Meanwhile, the property and development committee will also consider a proposal to fast-track other affordable housing construction.

In that case, city staff recommend allowing vacant buildings that are being redeveloped to provide affordable housing to exceed limits on the number of housing units they can provide, if that number was higher under past zoning rules. The total number of units would still need to fall within the maximum density originally allowed in that zone.

Both changes would require city council approval.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

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