City Council Meeting – Consolidated Summary

High-level summary - The meeting focused on allocating federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) money within the CIP framework, clarifying allocation criteria, and exploring long-term affordable housing strategies including city-owned properties and partnerships. Staff indicated follow-up reports and public guidance would be provided, and the session closed with an adjournment and related actions.

Five most important topics (key themes, with quotes) 1) Funding Requests Exceeding the Current CIP Budget - Issue: Requests exceed the existing CIP budget; staff will prioritize applications with a staff report to follow. - Direct quote: Ashley stated, "Our existing CIP funding pool is housing accelerator fund dollars from the federal government." - Impact: Residents could see tighter prioritization and longer wait times for CIP-funded housing projects as staff evaluate limited funds.

2) Criteria for Allocating Limited Funding - Issue: Clarification on the criteria used to allocate limited CIP funds. - Direct quote: Ashley said, "There’s a series of criteria that was made available to the applicants as part of our CIP guideline," and offered to share details after the meeting. - Impact: Transparency on how funding decisions are made; residents can anticipate criteria being shared publicly.

3) $31 Million in Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) from the Federal Government - Issue: The city received $31M in HAF, with flexibility in use; not all funds necessarily go to CIP grants. - Direct quote: Ashley explained, "It was allotted through the nine different action items on the action plan." - Timeline: The legal agreement requires spending by November 2027. - Impact: Significant funding deadline and flexibility may affect which housing programs qualify and how quickly projects move forward.

4) Affordable Housing Requirements Under Provincial Regulations - Issue: Clarification on provincial inclusionary zoning requirements. - Direct quote: Ashley noted, "The provincial government has formalized regulations related to inclusionary zoning, with a maximum affordable requirement of 5%." - Impact: Implications for developers and housing projects; affects the percentage of units that must be affordable.

5) Timeline for Spending Federal Funds - Issue: Spending deadline for HAF funds. - Timeline: Funds must be allocated by November 2027 under the legal agreement. - Impact: Creates urgency for staff to finalize allocations and for the public to see timely outcomes.

Opportunities for public input - Public access to criteria: The CIP funding allocation criteria are available on the city’s website for review. - Future input: A staff report with funding recommendations will be presented at a future council meeting, providing another opportunity for public feedback.

Notes on file numbers or bylaw references - No specific file numbers or bylaw numbers were cited in these excerpts. References to CIP guidelines, HAF action items, and inclusionary zoning regulations are mentioned, but without formal file/bylaw identifiers in the provided text.

Motions and outcomes - Motion to Receive the Discussion on Affordable Housing Initiatives - Outcome: Not explicitly stated as passed, rejected, or deferred in this section. - Next steps: Further analysis of city-owned properties and exploration of partnerships with public institutions (e.g., hospitals, schools, places of worship) for potential housing projects. - Motion to Adjourn - Outcome: Passed unanimously. - Next steps: None specified beyond adjourning the meeting.

Councillors present - Mr. Chair (presiding officer) - Councillor Shu - Councillor Mr. Claire - Councillor Miss Monk Naki - Councillor Kathleen - Councillor Mr. Robinson - Councillor D. Martino - Note: Ashley, Sabrina, and Clerk are staff; not counted among councillors.