Saugeen Shores is expecting some significant growth over the next few years.
The 2021 Development Services Planning Activity Report says the first half of the year had strong application activity which is projected to continue for the rest of the year and into 2022.
Mayor Luke Charbonneau says, “We’re the fastest growing community in the region. Already in 2021, we’ve well exceeded $100 million in building permits so far and the year is still a few months from being over. So we’re on track to have the biggest year we’ve ever had in construction, which is saying something because we’ve had some pretty big years.”
While 37 applications were processed so far this year, the report explains, a single application could apply to a development of 100 homes, for example.
It says new dwelling construction is two to three times the early part of the 2010s.
According to the report, applications processed in 2021 will allow for new infrastructure construction, 156 single detached dwelling lots, two semi-detached dwelling units, 60 townhouse lots, eight apartment units, 45 secondary dwelling units, 7,019 square metres of non-residential construction, the Lamont employment lands and one park block.
A report to councillors September 27th says, some new developments underway include phase two of Southampton Landing on McNabb Street which includes 40 single detached dwellings, one townhouse block, ten secondary dwelling units and parkland.
The Summerside development on Bruce Street and north of Devonshire Road is under construction and includes 55 single detached dwellings, 56 townhouse dwellings and 22 secondary dwelling units.
The Nadine Montgomery Site Plan at 488 Goderich Street will include eight new apartment units.
The report says it’s expected residential construction will stay, “elevated from historical norms.”
The Town’s projected future growth includes 1,700 new dwelling units by 2031, 3,857 people in new units by 2031 and a population of over 19,000 total in Saugeen Shores by 2030.
The latest population numbers are from the 2016 which lists the population as 13,715. New census data will be available in February 2022.
As a comparison, Owen Sound has about 21,000 people according to the 2016 census.
The Town staff report notes, there are about 2,000 residential units in draft approved plans and roughly 300 vacant residential lots in the short term. The report says recent updates to development charges as well as the Transportation Master Plan, and Water & Sewer Master Plan help to facilitate the expected growth.
The report also says, over the next two years it a number of developments will be begin to be processed. They include a development along Highway 21 in Port Elgin which would have a mix of residential units and commercial space in multiple locations, as well as the next phase of Northport Meadows subdivision, the next phase of the Bluewater subdivision, the next phases of the Summerside subdivision, the Spence Street Subdivision, the Hampton Woods Subdivision, Market Street Subdivision, and rental housing developments, including the addition of attainable rental housing.
Charbonneau says, “The development story for Saugeen Shores is, it’s a place where people want to live. Development and growth is good but it’s only good if you do something with it.”
Charbonneau says the town is growing and will keep growing, adding, “We’re doing things to make sure we keep growing, but then more importantly, what do we do to make sure we leverage the growth to improve the quality of life of people in the community?”
He says council discussed affordable and attainable housing at the September 27th meeting, asking “How do we ensure that those developers who are building subdivisions in our community— while they build nice, single-family homes and we want them to do that, but how do we make sure that they’re also building apartment buildings, rentals, higher-density developments that will be available for all the folks we know who live in our community who can’t find an affordable place to live.”
“Our growth is a tremendous opportunity in that regard. Because we have those developers and they want to build, we can offer them incentives and we can impose regulations to ensure that they do build that affordable and attainable housing.”
For example, the Southampton Landing development plans for 10 secondary dwelling units, and the Summerside development plans for 22 secondary units. A secondary unit has a private, kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms. It could be, but isn’t limited to, a basement unit, an upper floor, or a detached unit for example.
Charbonneau says, “A first time homebuyer who buys a house that has a secondary unit in it, can rent that secondary unit to generate some income to help them pay the mortgage, to make that single family home that they’re going to raise a family in more attainable as they get into the housing market.”