An organization called United Housing for All says housing is not affordable for many people in Saugeen Shores.
In a delegation to council Monday evening Mini Jacques said United Housing for All retained research consultant Erin Deviney from Clarksburg to gather local income and housing information.
“The study confirms what many residents, service organizations and employers have been telling us for years. There’s a growing gap between the cost of housing in Saugeen Shores and what many people can realistically afford,” said Jacques.
She added, “The purpose of this report is not to criticize development or discourage growth. Rather it’s intended to provide accurate information—– that it help guide future planning policy decisions and affordable housing initiatives and pricing of affordable rental units and homes in our community.”
The report said, in Saugeen Shores, a one-bedroom apartment costs about $1,500 a month to rent, two-bedrooms ranges from $1,640 to $3,900 and three-bedrooms ranges from $1,890 to $3,500.
The report said, for a two or more bedroom unit, attainable housing requires a household income of $66,000 per year, which they describe as out of reach of many residents.
Jacques says looking at local job postings the average retail job pays $20/hr or $40,000 a year. A non-management office job locally pays $25/hr or $50,000 a year and then a third category locally of ‘other jobs’ is $35/hr or $70,000 a year.
Jacques says there was no housing available within the Ontario benchmark of 30 per cent of their income for the first two categories of earners mentioned above.
If a person makes $35/hour there are options available for at least $1,750 a month.
She noted, “As more residents seek to age in place, our need for personal support workers and other healthcare professionals will continue to increase. The report looked at experienced personal support workers who would struggle to find rental housing that meets Ontario’s benchmark for affordability.”
Jacques added, “If we want seniors to age in place successfully, we must ensure the workforce needed to care for them can afford to live here. At a United Housing for All information centre last year, the director of the United Way (Francesca Dobbyn) noted many of her clients seeking utility assistance were employed single moms who were personal support workers.”
She explained, “Many were forced to make difficult choices between paying rent and paying utility bills. This demonstrated that affordability challenges extends well beyond those living in poverty. It increasingly affects working residents, our retail staff, restaurant workers, wait staff, office staff, medical support staff all who provide essential services within the community.”
“Our seniors who have lived and worked in our community for much of their lives, they need housing as well,” said Jacques.
Following the delegation, Vice Deputy Mayor Mike Myatt highlighted a stat from the presentation which estimated 40 per cent of people who work in Saugeen Shores live out of town. “That’s of concern to me and it hopefully would be a concern to a lot of people around this table because I think the people that work in the low to moderate income jobs– wouldn’t it be nice to have them live there if they could?– but they can’t afford to live here.”
Councillor Dave Myette noted there are some employers that provide housing for their workers, and added, “Let’s hope that between government led initiatives, individual initiatives, and the overall market pressure that we’ll get to a point where everybody has a place to live.”
As far as current efforts to house people goes, there are a number of efforts being explored. One is a Municipal Housing Allowance Subsidy provided through Bruce County and Saugeen Shores with 21 households receiving an allowance at last check.
The Town is considering a streamlined Community Permit Planning System with a focus on affordable housing in the downtown areas of Port Elgin and Southampton, which could create greater density in the downtowns. There isa public meeting on that proposed system Wednesday, June 24th at the Powerlink Building on Goderich Street from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
The Town, with the help of Bruce Power, has also created standardized plans they anyone can use to build Additional Residential Units (ARU) like above garage housing or a small dwelling on their property.
It’s also looking at using surplus Town land for housing, with a couple of developments at various stages of the planning and approval process as a result. One is a development in Port Elgin’s north end in partnership with Habitat for Humanity and another is proposed for about 183 affordable housing units on the Town-owned Bluewater Lands, on Bruce Street in Port Elgin.
Image from presentation to council