Part 1: Worker Housing Debate, Asset Management Plan, and Development Charge Changes – 07/25/2024
- PECConnect
- Jul 25, 2024
- 4 min read
The County council met in Committee of the Whole meeting on July 25, 2024 to work through a stack of policy and planning decisions that will shape how the municipality supports local jobs, maintains aging infrastructure, and funds growth. Councillor Phil St-Jean, serving as chair, guided the meeting through several long reports, with councillors pressing staff on what the recommendations would mean in practice and what would come back to council next.
View the entire PEC Council meeting, or continue to speaker comments and councillor votes>
Skilled Trades Report Ends With a Separate Vote on Worker Housing
The meeting returned to the County’s skilled trades and construction business retention work, where Karen Palmer (economic development presenter) spoke to recommendations aimed at keeping and growing the local workforce. Councillor David Harrison flagged a consistent pressure point he hears from employers, especially in hospitality: temporary housing for workers is hard to find, year after year.
Questions sharpened around Recommendation 5, which asked staff to explore measures to allow temporary worker housing connected to active housing development sites. Councillor Roy Pennell raised concerns about unintended consequences, including the risk that temporary buildings could become a taxpayer problem if a project slowed down. Councillor Sam Branderhorst clarified that Recommendation 3, about inventorying underused employment lands, was focused on identifying existing sites like dormant industrial buildings and connecting owners with potential tenants.
St-Jean disclosed he had been interviewed as part of the study and defended the direction of the report, calling the skilled labour shortage widespread and long-term. He supported moving the recommendations forward, while acknowledging the interview pool was small because many operators could not step away during the workday.
At Councillor Brad Nieman’s request, council voted on Recommendations 1 through 4 together, then held Recommendation 5 for a separate vote. Councillor Janice Maynard briefly explored broadening the wording to include other sectors, then withdrew the amendment after noting other worker housing discussions already exist in farm and hospitality contexts. Council carried the separate motion on Recommendation 5.
Non-Core Asset Management Plan Lands With Bigger Decisions Still Ahead
After a recess, council moved to the Non-Core Asset Management Plan, introduced by Arryn McNichol of Corporate and Legislative Services. Nickel said the plan meets Ontario Regulation 588/17 requirements and builds on the County’s earlier core plan, with the combined consolidated plan due by July 2025.
McNichol emphasized this stage is largely an inventory and condition snapshot, not the final financial strategy. He said facilities were generally in poor condition, while fleet was mostly in good shape with a smaller set of vehicles rated poor to very poor.
Councillors pressed on what “service levels” actually mean for taxes, McNichol and Branderhorst said council will have workshops in early 2025 to confirm service standards and build a long-term funding strategy.
Albert Paschkowiak, Environmental Services and Sustainability Supervisor, stressed that the service standards discussion is the critical piece because it drives long-term costs. The motion to receive the report and direct next steps carried.
Development Charges and Affordable Housing Definitions
Council then reviewed amendments to several development charges bylaws, described by Branderhorst as largely administrative changes tied to shifting provincial rules. Director of Housing Adam Goheen focused on the newer provincial mandatory exemption for affordable housing, saying provincial thresholds were unlikely to fit local conditions. He also outlined changes to clarify the County’s Municipal Housing Project Facilities By-law, including clearer sourcing of local market data.
Councillors asked whether incentives could apply to individuals building affordable units, not just developers. Branderhorst said staff would confirm how the bylaw applies and report back with clearer explanation. Council carried the package of bylaw amendments.
Key Takeaways
The County approved steps to explore temporary worker housing, with staff expected to return with deeper research on requirements and oversight.
Council accepted a major asset management milestone, but the hard choices on service levels and long-term funding are still ahead in 2025.
Development charges and affordable housing rules are being adjusted to reflect changing provincial requirements while aiming for clearer, locally grounded definitions.
Disclaimer: This article is based on a meeting with an approximate duration of 3:23:21. Due to the length of the meeting, our team was not able to independently review the full recording in its entirety. As a result, we relied on software-generated transcription, automated summarization, and automated recognition of speakers and participants, which may not be entirely accurate. All transcriptions, summaries, and related content are prepared by our team in good faith and on a reasonable best-efforts basis. The content is provided for general informational purposes only and is intended to support public understanding of the topics discussed. While reasonable efforts have been made to present the information accurately, automated processes may result in errors, omissions, or unintended misinterpretations. This article does not constitute an official, certified, or verbatim record of the meeting, and it should not be relied upon as such. Readers are encouraged to consult original source materials, official minutes, or recordings where available for confirmation or clarification. Questions, requests for clarification, or suggested corrections may be submitted to hello@pecconnect.ca for review and consideration.
Comments