Committee RecommendationS
That Council approve the following recommendations:
1.
In accordance with the 2008 Action Ottawa Selection
Committee, direct staff to request authorization from the Ministry of Municipal
Affairs and Housing to allocate to Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation, for
the provision of 29 affordable rental housing units, $1,680,000 of 2003 Canada-Ontario
Affordable Housing Program funding
that was previously allocated to Safe Housing Ottawa.
2.
A conditional grant from the City in the amount of
$10,000.00 in lieu of building permit fees subject to: (i) the grant being
included in a Municipal Housing Project Facilities Agreement between the City
and Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation respecting 54 Primrose Avenue that
provides for 29 rental affordable housing units, (ii) Centretown Citizens
Ottawa Corporation executing a contribution agreement with the Ministry of
Municipal Affairs and Housing that provides for funding in the amount of
$1,680,000 under the 2003 Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program for
the project, (iii) the provisions of the Municipal Housing Facilities By-law
(2006-1), and (iv) Council enacting a Municipal Housing Project Facilities
By-law for this project.
3.
That the City Clerk and Solicitor be authorized to
forward the project specific Municipal Housing Project Facility By-law directly
to City Council for enactment in accordance with the Municipal Housing
Facilities By-law 2006-1, upon execution of the Municipal Housing Project
Facility Agreement.
RecommandationS DU Comité
Que le Conseil approuve les recommandations
suivantes :
1.
Conformément
aux directives du Comité de sélection d’Action Ottawa 2008, donner instruction
au personnel de demander au ministère des Affaires municipales et du Logement
l’autorisation d’affecter à la Centretown
Citizens Ottawa Corporation, en vue de la construction de 29 logements
locatifs abordables, une somme de 1 680 000 $ provenant du
budget du Programme Canada-Ontario de
logement abordable de 2003 qui
avait d’abord été attribuée à Safe Housing Ottawa.
2.
L’octroi
par la Ville d’une subvention conditionnelle de 10 000 $ tenant lieu
de frais d’obtention de permis de construire, sous réserve (i) de la conclusion
d’une entente sur les ensembles de logements municipaux entre la Ville et la Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation
portant sur 24 logements locatifs abordables au 54, avenue Primrose; (ii) de la
conclusion par la Centretown Citizens
Ottawa Corporation d’un accord de contribution avec le ministère des
Affaires municipales et du Logement prévoyant l’octroi de crédits de
1 680 000 $ aux termes du Programme Canada-Ontario de logement
abordable de 2003 en vue de la réalisation de l’ensemble de logements, (iii)
des dispositions du Règlement 2006-1 sur les ensembles de logements municipaux;
(iv) de l’adoption par le Conseil d’un règlement portant expressément sur cet
ensemble de logements.
3.
Que
le greffier et chef du contentieux soit autorisé à présenter au Conseil un
projet de règlement portant expressément sur cet ensemble de logements,
conformément au Règlement sur les logements municipaux (2006-1), au moment de
la conclusion d’une entente de logement abordable relativement à ce projet.
Documentation
1. Deputy City Manager's report, City
Operations dated 3 December 2009 (ACS2009-COS-CAS-0019).
Report
to/Rapport au:
Community
and Protective Services Committee
Comité des services communautaires et de protection
and Council / et au Conseil
Submitted by/Soumis par:
Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City
Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint,
City Operations/Opérations municipales
Contact Person/Personne ressource : Stephen
Arbuckle, Acting Manager of Housing,Community and Social Services
Department/Gest.Logement, Services sociaux et communautaires
(613) 580-2424 x44117, Stephen.Arbuckle@ottawa.ca
That the Community and Protective Services Committee recommend that Council approve the following recommendations:
1.
In
accordance with the 2008 Action Ottawa Selection Committee, direct staff to
request authorization from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to
allocate to Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation, for the provision of 29
affordable rental housing units, $1,680,000 of 2003 Canada-Ontario
Affordable Housing Program funding
that was previously allocated to Safe Housing Ottawa.
2.
A conditional grant from the City in the amount of
$10,000.00 in lieu of building permit fees subject to: (i) the grant being
included in a Municipal Housing Project Facilities Agreement between the City
and Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation respecting 54 Primrose Avenue that
provides for 29 rental affordable housing units, (ii) Centretown Citizens
Ottawa Corporation executing a contribution agreement with the Ministry of
Municipal Affairs and Housing that provides for funding in the amount of
$1,680,000 under the 2003 Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program for
the project, (iii) the provisions of the Municipal Housing Facilities By-law
(2006-1), and (iv) Council enacting a Municipal Housing Project Facilities
By-law for this project.
3.
That the City Clerk and Solicitor be authorized to
forward the project specific Municipal Housing Project Facility By-law directly
to City Council for enactment in accordance with the Municipal Housing
Facilities By-law 2006-1, upon execution of the Municipal Housing Project
Facility Agreement.
Que le
Comité des services communautaires et de protection recommande au Conseil
d’approuver les recommandations suivantes :
1.
Conformément
aux directives du Comité de sélection d’Action Ottawa 2008, donner instruction
au personnel de demander au ministère des Affaires municipales et du Logement
l’autorisation d’affecter à la Centretown
Citizens Ottawa Corporation, en vue de la construction de 29 logements
locatifs abordables, une somme de 1 680 000 $ provenant du
budget du Programme Canada-Ontario de
logement abordable de 2003 qui
avait d’abord été attribuée à Safe Housing Ottawa.
2.
L’octroi
par la Ville d’une subvention conditionnelle de 10 000 $ tenant lieu
de frais d’obtention de permis de construire, sous réserve (i) de la conclusion
d’une entente sur les ensembles de logements municipaux entre la Ville et la Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation
portant sur 24 logements locatifs abordables au 54, avenue Primrose; (ii) de la
conclusion par la Centretown Citizens
Ottawa Corporation d’un accord de contribution avec le ministère des
Affaires municipales et du Logement prévoyant l’octroi de crédits de
1 680 000 $ aux termes du Programme Canada-Ontario de logement
abordable de 2003 en vue de la réalisation de l’ensemble de logements, (iii)
des dispositions du Règlement 2006-1 sur les ensembles de logements municipaux;
(iv) de l’adoption par le Conseil d’un règlement portant expressément sur cet
ensemble de logements.
3.
Que
le greffier et chef du contentieux soit autorisé à présenter au Conseil un
projet de règlement portant expressément sur cet ensemble de logements,
conformément au Règlement sur les logements municipaux (2006-1), au moment de
la conclusion d’une entente de logement abordable relativement à ce projet.
On September 10th 2008, Council approved the 2008 Action Ottawa Selection Committee recommendation to allocate $1.68M of Federal-Provincial Funds under the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program to the Safe Housing Ottawa to support the construction of 24 new affordable rental apartment units on lands being developed by Parkway House and Windmill Corporation (ACS2008-CPS-HOU-0011).
The
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing accepted Council’s recommendation and
a conditional letter of commitment was issued by the Minister allocating $1.68M
of capital funding to the project. In October 2009 Safe Housing Ottawa
advised staff that they would be unable to meet project timelines and
milestones under the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program and indicated that they would seek AHP funding in
2011.
As reported to Council on March 26, 2008 (ACS2008-CPS-HOU-0001), the level of funding available in the 2003 AHP was increasingly insufficient to support the development of new housing. Staff recommended that options to use AHP funding to acquire and rehabilitate existing residential properties be pursued as a more cost-effective way of providing low-income affordable housing, and also to help slow the loss of existing lower-cost market (especially rental) housing due to conversion, redevelopment or escalating costs to operate and maintain buildings. Staff began discussions with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and in 2008, the Action Ottawa Selection Committee selected three projects. Two of the proposed projects which received funding were Multifaith Housing Initiative to acquire and renovate a 27- unit apartment building on Blake Street and LiveWorkPlay’s acquisition of condominium units for supportive rental housing.
The proposal by Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation to acquire the 29-unit apartment building located at 54 Primrose Avenue was submitted in 2008 to the Housing Branch and selected for funding by the 2008 Action Ottawa Selection Committee. However, the proposal was not submitted to Council or the Ministry for funding at the time due to limited funding and due to on-going discussions with staff from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing regarding criteria for the acquisition and rehabilitation of existing buildings in the City. The March 26, 2008 report stated that, “The sixth project proposal is not being recommended for funding at time because of restrictions in the AHP program guidelines. Staff has worked with the Province to try to open the AHP program guidelines to enable straight acquisition of existing rental housing and conversion to long-term low-income affordable housing.
However, the Federal program
guidelines require that AHP funding be used to provide new housing, which has
been interpreted as:
-
new
development,
-
conversion
of non-residential to residential,
-
acquisition
of existing residential to prevent it’s absolute loss (demolition or conversion
to non-residential use or condominium tenure), or
-
acquisition and significant renovation of existing
residential properties.
The sixth proposal was for straight acquisition of an existing rental building without any significant conversion or renovation. The selection committee recommended this project for funding, however Ministry staff have indicated that it would therefore be unlikely to receive Ministerial approval. Therefore staff are withholding recommendation for this project at this time.”
Staff have since requested that CCOC modify their proposal to include significant renovations that improve the building life cycle and overall energy efficiency. In addition, CCOC have been able to modify their proposal to acquire the 29-unit apartment building with 24 units of funding (i.e., $70,000 per unit totalling $1.68M in funding), further improving the merits of the original proposal. Renovations to the apartment building are planned to include the following:
1. Asbestos
abatement;
2. Roofing
replacement & flashing & roof hatch;
3. Miscellaneous
masonry repairs;
4. Caulking
/ exterior painting;
5. Window
wall replacement;
6. Vinyl
window replacement;
7. Boiler
replacement;
8. Electrical
update/repairs in units and throughout building as required;
9. Flooring
replacement in common areas;
10. Bathroom updates/
energy/water efficient fixtures / install exhaust fans;
11. Miscellaneous
safety concerns/maintenance door and hardware replace/repair to fire safety
code, common area lighting; and
12. Repairs to
sidewalks and walkways.
Given the above, staff are recommending that CCOC’s proposal be awarded the $1.68M of 2003 Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program funding for the acquisition and rehabilitation of the 29 unit apartment building at 54 Primrose Avenue. Housing Services staff have notified the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing of Safe Housing Ottawa’s decision to withdraw from the Affordable Housing Program and of the potential re-allocation of funds to Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation if approved by Council.
Staff recommend fee relief in the form of a conditional grant in the amount of $10,000.00 in lieu of building permit fees to further support this project. The grant shall be included in the Municipal Housing Project Facilities Agreement for the project and is conditional as the Agreement provides that all funding, including fee relief, is to be repaid to the City in the event of non-compliance with the Agreement that includes a twenty-five year affordability requirement for the project.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no rural
implications with this report.
This report was not subject to consultation.
There are no legal/risk management impediments to implementing the recommendations in this report.
With the approval of the
recommendations contained in this report Capital Project "Safeway Housing Ottawa” with authority
of $304,000 will be closed, $294,000 will be transferred to the Affordable
Housing Capital Building Fund, and $10,000 will be used to created Capital
Project “Centretown Citizens Ottawa
Corporation (Primrose)”.
The $1.68M in funding
from the 2003 Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program will be provided in
accordance with milestones in the Provincial-Contribution Agreement, which will
be provided directly to the proponent by Ministry of Municipal Affairs and
Housing.
N/A
Housing Services will notify the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing of Council approval and recommendation. Upon receiving Ministry approval, the Housing Branch will inform the proponent that they may proceed with the project.
Housing Services will work to ensure timely implementation of all necessary funding agreements for the Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation Proposal.
Corporate Development & Environmental Law Branch will forward the project specific Municipal Housing Project Facility By-law to Council for enactment.
Corporate Development &
Environmental Law Branch will review and approve the form and content of the
Municipal Housing Project Facility Agreement (MHPFA) for the project.