TAMRMS#: B06
11.1
REQUEST FOR DECISION
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Housing Accelerator Fund Initiatives
Presented by: Katie Mahoney Manager, Planning Branch, and Lory Scott, Affordable Housing Liaison
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RECOMMENDED MOTION(S)
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That PLAN-013 Housing Accelerator Fund Initiatives be approved in the amount of $11,813,100, to be funded from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Program.
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SUMMARY
This report seeks Council approval for the capital project charter, PLAN-013: Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Initiatives. Council’s approval of the capital project charter will enable Administration to expend the funds allocated to the City through the HAF Program managed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
St. Albert has been approved to receive up to $11,813,094 in four installments over three years, based on meeting the goals defined within the City’s HAF Action Plan. The funding allocated to the City does not require a cost matching component or funding contribution from the City of St. Albert to move forward.
ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
On August 15, 2023, Council passed the following motions:
AR- 23-403:
That the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Action Plan be approved for submission to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) prior to August 18, 2023, Housing Accelerator Fund grant deadline.
That the Chief Administrative Officer be directed to enter into contribution or amending agreements that may be required by CMHC should the City be selected to receive funding.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) was initially announced during the 2022 Federal Government budget, intended to drive transformational change in municipalities across Canada through incentive-based funding. Round One included a $4 billion budget which was distributed to 177 municipal applicants. Council authorized Administration to apply for Round One of the HAF Program in August 2023 through motion AR-23-403. The City applied but was not awarded funds during Round One.
In July 2024, Round Two of the HAF Program was announced. Eligibility was limited to applicants who applied for funding in the first round but were not funded. Administration was directed to reapply for the HAF Round Two Program, closing in September 2024. On March 21, 2025, the Federal Government announced that St. Albert was one of four applications from Alberta to receive funding through Round Two within the $400 million budget.
St. Albert’s funding will be based on the City’s progress to meet the defined targets and milestones within the City’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Action Plan. The City has already received the first installment of $2,953,274 from the CMHC to fund the first initiatives, subject to Council’s approval of the Capital Project Charter. Costs associated with implementing the Action Plan are eligible to be funded entirely through HAF and will not require additional funding from the City.
The remaining installments will be approved annually based on the City’s progress on HAF action milestones. The accelerated housing supply (in addition to units typically achieved), must be completed or be under development by December 2027, verified through building permit data. All funds must be spent towards eligible costs by December 2028.
Due to the expedited nature of the Program, HAF related work will be the priority of the Planning & Development department over the next three years. It is anticipated that HAF initiatives will influence the prioritization of other corporate strategic initiatives and other Council initiated projects. It is important to note that service levels and standard processes within the Planning and Development Department must also be maintained to support residents and the development industry, and to fulfil HAF housing targets.
HAF Program Purpose
The HAF Program and associated funding is being used as an incentive to encourage municipalities to implement actions that would increase housing supply at an accelerated pace through the removal of systemic barriers (focused on increasing the ability to develop “Missing Middle” housing products like semi-detached dwellings, townhousing, low rise apartments, and secondary suites), and enhance certainty in the approvals and building process. Initiatives included as part of the City’s Action Plan are expected to provide a long-term benefit to the City’s housing supply, in alignment with HAF priorities and Flourish, the City’s Municipal Development Plan (MDP) in the following areas:
7.1 Housing Diversity
• 7.1.3. Encourage intensification through innovative and emerging housing types that are compatible with existing and planned Neighbourhoods.
• 7.1.7 Identify opportunities for Land Use Bylaw updates that support Neighbourhood renewal, aging in place, intensification and diversification of existing housing stock through incremental redevelopment.
7.2 Housing for Everyone
• 7.2.11 Support the use of municipal lands that are surplus to City needs to enable non-market affordable housing development.
While some initiatives (infill strategy, parking study, e-permitting) will not be expected to directly achieve a significant increase in the number of units developed over the three-year application term, the outcomes of these initiatives are expected to improve processing or otherwise facilitate more rapid development of the City’s housing supply over the long-term (a key goal of the Program).
Four Units As-of-Right
The minimum requirement of HAF to receive future funding installments is that the city enable four units per parcel as-of-right in residential areas throughout the city. To support greater housing diversity, the recently approved Land Use Bylaw 18/2024 combined the previous separate low density residential districts of R1 and R2 into a new district Low Density Residential (LDR). Currently, in low density residential areas, only semi-detached and duplex housing can achieve four units/parcel (with inclusion of suites).
With acceptance of this grant, Administration will explore and propose options aligning with the four units as-of-right requirement. Development options aligning with the four units as of right requirement will return for Council’s consideration at a future meeting date.
Next Steps
Work on all seven initiatives (HAF Program minimum) will start immediately. The Action Plan identifies additional staffing capacity requirements for implementation, which are an eligible expense, funded by the HAF Program.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
Stakeholder communications and engagement will be incorporated, consistent with the City’s Public Participation Policy (C-CAO-20).
IMPACTS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
The HAF priorities support three goals from Council’s Strategic Plan and many policy priorities within the Municipal Development Plan, as the City anticipates growing to a population of 100,000 people.
Financial:
The City will receive up to $11,813,094 from the CMHC HAF Program. Total funding is contingent on meeting action milestones outlined in the HAF agreement:
• an estimated 302 residential housing units incented directly through HAF over the three-year course of the Program.
• Another 1,248 units are anticipated to be developed based on the previous three-year building permit average.
Compliance & Legal:
The City’s agreement with CMHC was reviewed by Legal Services prior to being signed and has been executed by the Chief Administrative Officer. While payment of funding is contingent on meeting action milestones, Council’s discretion has not been fettered with respect to any future decisions that need to be made by Council with respect to achievement of milestones.
Program or Service:
Service levels and standard processes within the Planning and Development will be maintained by adding additional staff capacity, and/or prioritizing other work as needed throughout the HAF Program.
Organizational:
The HAF Program will increase workloads related to housing. Input from multi-departmental staff teams and procurement processes for external consultants have been included within the proposed expenses to implement specific initiatives, which are an eligible expense under HAF funding.
Risks
The federal election may impact funding allocated to the HAF Program in subsequent years. Administration estimates this risk is low, as CMHC has indicated that funds allocated towards HAF Program recipients have already been allocated to CMHC.
Should the City be unable to meet defined housing targets, the City may risk losing an equivalent portion of the funds allocated through the HAF.
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
The HAF Action Plan aligns with three of Council’s strategic priorities:
Strategic Priority #1: Economic Prosperity: Support an investment positive environment that encourages economic growth and the development of new and existing sectors.
• Green Tape 2.0 - Develop and recommend Green Tape 2.0 initiatives to enable increased growth, investment and commerce in St. Albert focusing on a strong collaborative model with the development industry.
• Infill Strategy - Develop a strategy to guide infill and intensification in St. Albert.
Strategic Priority #3: Community Well Being: Respond to changing demographics, accommodate the diverse needs of residents, and continue to foster an inclusive community where everyone has an opportunity to fully participate and feel welcomed.
• Enhance Housing Options - Facilitate an increase in the variety of housing types, provide social support to respond to changing demographics and accommodate the diverse needs of residents. This includes conducting a housing needs assessment.
• Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Strategy - Develop the City’s overall strategy, identify tactics and an implementation plan for diversity, equity and accessibility.
Strategic Priority #5: Financial Sustainability: Ensure responsible and transparent fiscal management, decision making and long-term financial sustainability that allows the City to respond to changes in revenue sources.
• Extending Online options for Building and Development Application Process - As part of Enhancement of Online Access to City Services - provide an online option for building and development permit requests.
ALIGNMENT TO LEVELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY
Digital Transformation
• Modernize the delivery of programs and services and processes through technology and automation.
IMPACTS OF ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
If Council does not wish to support the recommendation, the following alternative could be considered:
ALTERNATIVE 1:
Do not approve the Capital Project Charter.
Financial:
This action would terminate all future funding allocated to the City through the HAF Program. It is anticipated that the City would be required to return the $2,953,273.60 funding received upon signing the agreement with the CMHC.
Compliance & Legal:
The CMHC may reduce or withhold future advances where it is determined that the Recipient was not in compliance with the conditions of funding at the time of an advance. While the agreement does not fetter the discretion of Council as to future decisions, grant agreement conditions state that it is the responsibility of the grant recipient to ensure such Council approvals are actively pursued in alignment with Program requirements.
Program or Service:
None at this time.
Organizational:
None at this time.
Risks
Approving the Capital Project Charter will enable all HAF initiatives to move forward, including further exploration of the four units as-of-right requirement in all residential neighbourhoods. This mitigates the risk that HAF funding is terminated before other program initiatives are underway. A decision on this direction by Council is deferred until further information is available regarding the proposed options for implementation.
Eligibility for other federal funding streams is also based on the implementation of four units as-of-right. If St. Albert does not enable four units per parcel or take other actions to promote housing development and diversity, St. Albert could be at a disadvantage with those communities that do.
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Report Date: May 6, 2025
Author(s): Lory Scott, Affordable Housing Liaison, Katie Mahoney, Planning Manager
Department: Planning and Development
Department Director: Kristina Peter
Managing Director: Adryan Slaght
Chief Administrative Officer: William Fletcher