Wellington County has launched a community awareness campaign regarding the housing issues being seen and felt locally.
Warden Kelly Linton says like many areas across Canada, affordable, attainable and accessible housing is becoming a major issue. Linton says with many people looking to move from the GTA into Wellington, many vulnerable people are being priced out of home ownership.
"Specifically vulnerable young families, seniors, but also a lot of other people are having a hard time being able to afford to live in the communities that they've grown up in and that they love. So, we know we can do some things differently."
Linton says these problems are not unique to Wellington, and the campaign is aimed at working with the public to ensure the needs of many different home seekers are met in the future.
He adds it's an urgent situation, and it's one that's affecting employers, too.
"We know employers are having a hard time finding workers, and that's significant, because we really want to be a great place to work here in Wellington County, as well as a great place to live. So we need to be able to allow people to live and work here, and that means more attainable housing options have to be found here."
The official release for the campaign, titled "Make Wellington County Home", calls the current situation a "crisis point" for the county. It states that "by 2051, provincial legislation requires the County to reach a population of at least 160,000 people and provide at least 70,000 jobs. Having enough housing to accommodate this growth is key."
Linton notes that there's no silver bullet in terms of fixing the issue, with more apartments, different types of town homes and other housing options in the mix, along with another solution that municipalities in Wellington are on board with.
"Another option though, that the county is moving ahead on, is allowing additional rental units on exiting properties. So that's something we've changed in our Official Plan, and all the member municipalities are following suit, and they're allowing more flexibility to add these rental residences on these existing properties."
Additionally, Linton says this can't just be solved municipally, because all levels of government are going to have to get involved to solve these housing issues nationwide. He says Wellington County is continuing to lobby the provincial and federal governments to help out county governments to get more pilot projects and other solutions off the ground.
"We've had several meetings already with ministers at the federal level. We've also me and will continue to meet with provincial ministers to see what they can do to help us to move ahead on some pilot projects. There's definitely some things in the works right now."
The official release on the campaign shares that the "median home price in Centre Wellington has increased more than 235 percent in five years, significantly higher than income growth over that period.
At least 40 percent of people who rent in Wellington County need to spend more than the recommended 30 percent of their income on housing. In some cases, this means going without enough food or other basic needs.
“These are the people we need to provide our health care, child or senior care, to fill good jobs at growing manufacturing businesses or in the cafes and restaurants that are vital contributors to our economy and our communities. If these essential jobs go unfilled, or if workers are under extreme stress, it affects all of us,” said Jana Burns, Wellington Place Administrator, Museum, Archives and Economic Development. “We can’t keep on doing what we’ve been doing, which is primarily building single detached homes when there are many options available that will bring us closer to a solution. Our community needs to endorse other housing options in their neighbourhoods. That’s the only way we’ll overcome this.”
The Make Wellington County Home campaign will be doing different open houses and public outreach initiatives throughout 2022, and more information can be found at wellington.ca/livehere.