On Feb 18, 2015, Barrie City Council has approved the Affordable Housing Strategy, which contains important changes to the city’s existing policy on second unit houses. In general, the Affordable Housing Strategy examines the current housing situation in Barrie and recommends a series of short-, mid- and long-term action items. The whole document can be viewed here.

There are a number of points that I feel critical and significant to know, so I have highlighted them as follows:

1. City of Barrie is the regional centre for Simcoe county. it not only acts as Simcoe’s major employment and service centre, but also has developed a role as a strong regional urbangrowth centre. With its growing population, Barrie, like other urban centres such as Toronto, Hamilton, is faced with an affordable housing situation where large-scale rental production has not yet kept up with demand.

2. City of Barrie has been designated by the Ontario Province to grow to a population of 210,000 people and 101,000 jobs by the year 2031.

3. The Strategy identifies that a minimum of 2,685 units are needed to address the current affordable housing crisis in Simcoe County over the 10 year peroid. The projected need for the City of Barrie is a minimum of an additional 840 units over the next ten years.

4. Population and Employment growth affacts the housing market. Aging population reduces the supply of resale homes, which in turn stimulates the increase in price of resale homes.

5. Both house prices and rent price affact the affordability of housing. 

6. Vacancy rate reflects the relations between supply and demand of the rental market. A healthy housing market is considered to have a vacancy rate of at least 5%. Barrie’s vacancy rate in 2014 is 1.6%, indicating a strong demand and a shortage of supply of rental units.

7. The Strategy proposes to amend the exiting zoning By-law and official plan, in regard to second unit permission, in order to comply with the provincial legislation. 

8. There are matters of interested to be considered associated with the implementation of second units.

9. Proposed amendment to the Zoning By-law on Two Unit Dwelling:

10. Recommended Action Plan: