Building a New Affordable Housing Strategy for St. John's

The 10-Year City of St. John’s Affordable Housing Strategy was approved by Council on Nov. 19, 2018. This strategy is a ten-year plan that continues and expands from the original 2014 Affordable Housing Business Plan’s mandate that ‘Housing is a human right. All people need and deserve a home in which they can afford to live, and the City should work to ensure such housing opportunities exist.’

Affordable housing is one of the most pressing issues nationally. People across the income spectrum find it increasingly difficult to secure suitable, adequate and affordable housing. Through this new strategy, the City will leverage its own municipal resources to support and compliment solutions of other levels of governments. By working collaboratively with our government partners, each unlocking unique available resources, we will maximize impact and multiply our efforts.

To fully address St. John’s housing needs, the new strategy has been developed with the vision of looking internally while working in-step with partners, stakeholders and residents to create and maintain safe, suitable, and affordable housing throughout the city. The City realizes the importance of working with the private sector to build the affordable housing inventory, and the new strategy will continue to create opportunities that encourage investment and inspire innovation.

The strategy recognizes that households have different housing needs based on size, employment, ability, health, income, stage in life, and a host of other factors. Affordable housing stock is about creating a range of housing choices.

The new City of St. John’s Affordable Housing Strategy is built on a strong foundation of public engagement and research on current local housing situation and emerging trends and it focuses on six strategic directions lined with actions:

· Unlocking Resources

· Building Homes

· Leading Innovation

· Revitalizing Policy

· Cultivating Partnership

· Informing Action

Guided by this new strategy, and with the continued support of the Affordable Housing Working Group, the City of St. John’s will continue to be a leader in affordable housing solutions and build strong partnerships to produce, protect and promote affordable housing for the people of St. John’s. We all have a role to play in helping our communities thrive.

The City of St. John’s released a What we Heard document on January 18, 2018, following a public engagement process which took place between May and June 2017, and was designed to help inform the next 10 year Affordable Housing Strategy.

The City’s first Affordable Housing Business Plan (AHBP), Creating Opportunities, Housing Our Community, was a 4 year plan which concluded in 2017.

A number of themes emerged throughout the City’s engagement process, including:

• Demographic realities

• Housing needs

• The importance of accessibility

• Energy efficiency as a function of affordability

• Transportation costs

• Partnerships