The Planning Network Coordinator of the Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force welcomes provincial plans to build more homes faster.
Jill Umbach said the province's housing announcement this week will speed up the approvals process for new homes, and allow up to three residential units per property. Umbach added there are better ways to build homes that don't contribute to urban sprawl.
"So we need to start at how can we perhaps infill where can we look at in terms of secondary housing, tiny homes square footage of what we're building, instead of always going with the larger urban example of large suburbs," she said.
She added the announcement should get more housing built faster.
"Can we get more mixed use residential areas? Can we have some affordable and attainable for seniors?" she asked. "So we're looking at smaller apartment types all the way and ranging to semi detached and other forms of more attainable housing."
She said Bruce County has a tool kit which helps planners and builders understand what can be done locally to develop attainable and affordable housing. And she pointed to other local municipalities that are also coming up with solutions
"Already some of the municipalities have been raising (money for afforable housing) from their own tax base. For example, Grey County has a one per cent surcharge on their tax levy that goes toward the building of affordable housing," she explained.