Essex moves ahead with housing grant application despite funding uncertainty

AM800-News-Essex-Town-Hall

Essex council has approved moving ahead with a federal-provincial housing grant application tied to cutting development charges.

The town plans to reduce residential development charges by 50 per cent for three years to qualify for the program.

In return, Essex could receive about $10.8 million for road and infrastructure projects aimed at unlocking housing in Wards 1, 2 and 4.

However, a late update from the province on Monday clarified funding is capped at the amount of development charges the town gives up, not total project costs, leaving Essex responsible for roughly $11 million.

Mayor Sherry Bondy says council debated the risks, but wants more information before making a final commitment.

“It wasn’t a unanimous decision here in Essex either, but we want to apply. We want to get more information to see if we would be successful, and then we will discuss it again to see what the province and the feds are able to give us and then we’ll make a final decision,” she said.

She says the ultimate goal is to ease costs and encourage growth.

“We’re looking to help our current taxpayers offset some of these charges. We’re also looking to incentivize developers to get a few more shovels in the ground in Essex,” Bondy said.

“We are growing really slow in Essex, so we want to meet the province and meet developers halfway.”

On June 1, the province and federal government launched the program with a deadline of June 19 to apply.

Bondy says municipalities are being pushed to make big decisions without enough clarity.

“Municipalities aren’t given that much information, we’re not given that much time, and we feel like we’re almost forced at times to apply for grants to follow the provincial priorities without having all the information,” she said.

“You’re put into a corner. We’re forced to grow. There’s grants out there that we might not get and we could take on more debt. It’s a very tricky position for municipalities to be in these days.”

Council also heard there is a risk of having to repay funding if housing targets aren’t met, and no guarantee how much support Essex will receive.

Bondy says the province is expected to respond before council hits a lame duck period ahead of October’s election.