Welland to develop affordable housing community improvement plan

A 42-unit affordable housing development is currently under construction at 60 York St. In Welland and will cater to victims of domestic violence and Black and Indigenous people. The City of Welland approved hiring a consultant to develop an affordable housing community improvement plan which could help those looking to build in the city. DAVE JOHNSON / TORSTAR

By Dave Johnson
Courtesy of The Tribune

Welland will add another tool to help support affordable housing strategies in the city with the creation of a new community improvement plan (CIP).

Council recently approved hiring Cambridge-based Tim Welch Consulting Inc. — a research, development and planning firm — to create an affordable housing CIP to address the needs in the city.

Grant Munday, the city’s director of planning and development services, said there was an extensive review process which involved the affordable housing committee, made up of residents and members of an affordable housing task force.

Munday said two firms were considered for the task with Tim Welch Consulting Inc. coming in at $59,830, nearly 23 per cent lower than Dillon Consulting.

In addition to the affordable housing committee, the consultant will engage stakeholders such as developers and non-profit groups looking to build affordable units in Welland.

A report to council said the firm will define affordable housing needs based on household incomes and define affordable housing for the CIP and any proposed programs. It will establish CIP goals and address the provision of affordable housing and other city-building objectives.

It will also develop incentives and programs to support the development of additional housing and identify monitoring measures to assist with future housing monitoring reports and to identify successes of the CIP.

Munday said it will also look at a land bank, seeing if there are city, regional, provincial or federal lands that could accommodate affordable housing.

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