Council to vote on spending housing funds

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This article was published 04/05/2024 (876 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon City Council will vote at its Monday meeting on whether to spend an undisclosed amount of money it has received from the Housing Acclerator Fund.

Last year, the city applied to the federal program, in which cities that make it easier for housing to get built receive funding for their housing and infrastructure-related programs.

At the Jan. 22 council meeting, councillors voted to approve Brandon entering into an agreement with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation under the program, but details on that agreement have been scarce.

According to the agenda for Monday’s meeting, the city was due to receive its first payment from the program by March 31.

It also states that by request of the CMHC, “information regarding the amount of funding and the housing targets must not be made public until a funding announcement is undertaken by the federal government.”

However, the document does say that the deadline for Brandon to meet the housing targets set out for it is Jan. 25, 2027, three years to the day after the funding agreement was officially executed.

A spokesperson for federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser told the Sun on Friday that an announcement for Brandon’s involvement in the program had yet to be placed on Fraser’s schedule, but his department is actively working on deals with cities across the country.

Some of the programs the city is pursuing in relation to the fund include a reduction in the amount of public hearings relating to housing-related conditional use permits or zoning variances, the creation of a housing liaison program, a housing-density bonus for developers, the promotion of housing builds in established areas of the city, an affordable and downtown housing incentive program, a change to the timing of development charges and changes to the city’s land transaction policy.

Those zoning bylaw amendments will be discussed at a May 15 public hearing held by Brandon’s Planning Commission in council chambers on the second floor of Brandon City Hall.

That hearing starts at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m. Those wishing to speak are asked to register upon arrival.

More information on the hearing and the city’s Housing Accelerator Fund initiatives can be found online at brandon.ca/housing-accelerator-fund.

Also on the agenda, Donna Hayden will ask for council’s support for her annual Shaina Strong event supporting mental health in honour of her daughter. This year’s event will take place on June 1 and 2.

With Ribfest coming up later this month, Dennis Nephin and Paul Mendonca will request a community event designation from council.

Appointments to the board of the Brandon Downtown Development Corporation and the Age Friendly Committee will be considered.

City staff will provide an update on progress made toward council’s 2022-26 strategic plan for the first quarter of 2024.

Reports will be delivered on behalf of the committee of the whole, the Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples’ Council, the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium board and the board of the Western Manitoba Regional Library.

Two items on the agenda, a personnel matter and something to do with the code of conduct complaint bylaw, will be held in camera and closed to the public.

Council will also hold an in-camera special meeting an hour before the regular meeting starts. Two items are on that agenda: an update on the Princess Site and a Pacific Avenue land sale.

Finally, council will vote on first reading of a bylaw officially opening the intersection of Quail Ridge Drive and Mockingbird Drive on the North Hill.

Regular council meetings start at 7 p.m. Those who can’t attend in person can watch the proceedings live on the city’s YouTube page or on WCGtv.

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