City of Barrie seeking feedback on proposed affordable housing priorities

Barrie city hall is conducting a survey to get feedback on what priorities it should focus on as it prepares a new affordable housing plan

Simcoe.com
Oct. 31, 2023
Brett Glover

The City of Barrie is hoping residents will weigh in as it works to update its affordable housing strategy.

City staff are gathering feedback on 10 proposed action items being considered for a revised housing strategy, including creating an affordable housing funding stream, undertaking a zoning bylaw review, enacting a rental replacement bylaw and more.

Residents can weigh in on these action items in two ways: a four-question online survey will be open until Nov. 13, and a drop-in open house will take place at the city hall rotunda on Nov. 9, from 3:30 to 6 p.m.

Survey results will be presented and considered by council when deciding how to prioritize these action items, in an effort to create a new affordable housing strategy. It is expected that the new strategy will be up for council approval in December, with subsequent implementation in 2024.

This public engagement continues a process first started in April, which led to the creation of a variety of policy options, upon which the 10 action items are based.

The 10-year strategy was first released in 2015, with a goal of building 840 affordable housing units by 2025, while the city hit that goal in 2020.