The Town of Tecumseh is continuing conversations surrounding the Housing Accelerator Fund.
During Tuesday's meeting, council was presented with a report for information about next steps, and what community consultation will look like.
During a council meeting at the end of March, deputy mayor Joe Bachetti brought forward a notice of motion asking that public information centres be held in advance of any public meetings under the Planning Act. That was approved by council.
Last night it was explained to council that they would updated along the way, and that another status update on the fund would be presented to council in June. Following that update, it would then be discussed when public information sessions could be held, as well as online consultations with Tecumseh residents.
The HAF Agreement offers financial support to facilitate the execution of nine initiatives over the next three years, and the work plans and consultation processes are currently in development stages and will include various status updates and public consultation opportunities.
Brian Hillman, Director of Development Services, says that community consultations will be held.
"These will include in person, virtual workshops, open houses, online engagement, to seek meaningful input from our residents, our land owners, our housing providers, and community stakeholders."
Larry Silani, Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners and partner with MillerSilani Inc., says everyone needs to work together on this list of initiatives to make Tecumseh an affordable place to live.
"We have family, we have friends, we know people who are struggling to buy a home. First time home buyers, single parent families who would like to rent an apartment but apartments now, the rents have gone through the roof, even if you can find one that's suitable for a household that has children. So, it's a broad objective, housing, and if it was so easy it would already be solved."
Silani says they understand how important public consultation is, and it's a priority in the work plans that are being developed for the nine initiatives.
"We'll be coming back to you as we work through these to give you an update. The first one we've committed to is in June, and we'll have more dates at that time. So we'll have some dates as to when these work plans see that deliverables take place, when the consultations is going to occur, we're still working out those details."
It was officially announced on March 4 that the Town of Tecumseh will receive almost $4.4 million to support housing construction through the HAF.
Through this deal the Town will see 137 housing units fast tracked over the next three years.
As part of the agreement, Tecumseh will allow up to four housing units as-of-right in all low-density residential districts, implement a new e-processing system for all planning-related applications, and review its minimum parking requirements for new developments.