CFUW Asks: My Plan for Housing and Growth
Thank you to CFUW Northumberland for asking candidates important questions about housing and growth. These are issues I hear about at doors across Cobourg, and I appreciate the opportunity to share what I would do as Mayor (and County Councillor).
The questions below come from CFUW’s flyer at candidate events. My answers build on my affordable housing plan.
1. What will you do to promote more affordable housing in our Municipality?
Everyone deserves a safe home they can afford. Cobourg needs more housing options that help seniors downsize, give young families a start and provide affordable places to rent.
As Mayor, I will ask Council to relaunch our Affordable and Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan and support more duplexes, townhomes, small multiplexes and secondary suites through our updated Official Plan.
My proposed “One Property, One More Home” program would make it easier for homeowners to create legal secondary units or garden suites, with clear guidance and a single staff contact. I will also propose a housing concierge to help nonprofit and affordable housing providers navigate approvals and move credible projects toward construction.
We should revisit our municipal land inventory and identify at least one suitable property for a housing partnership. The Town could retain ownership through a long-term lease while requiring affordable, accessible or seniors’ housing, without sacrificing active parkland. We also need to get creative on how housing is built through concepts such as housing/community land trusts.
I will also work to reinstate the Planning and Development Advisory Committee so residents and people with housing, planning and accessibility experience help shape these decisions. The goal is practical: get the right homes built in the right places.
2. What will you do to preserve our rural and small-town charm while accommodating residential and commercial growth?
Cobourg can grow without losing what makes it home. Our heritage downtown, waterfront, neighbourhoods and natural spaces are part of our identity, and development needs to respect them.
As Mayor, I will work to complete our updated Official Plan within the first year of the new term, with residents helping shape where growth belongs, appropriate building heights and the infrastructure needed to support it. I do not support high rises towers at the gateway to or in our historic downtown. I support gentle density, including duplexes, townhomes and secondary suites that fit their neighbourhoods, while directing larger residential growth to appropriate areas such as Cobourg East and protecting our employment lands. We must plan within the existing zoning requirements in place to ensure the character of our town remains in tact.
Growth must also contribute fairly to the roads, water systems and services it needs. Major approvals should be tied to demonstrated infrastructure capacity and a clear plan to pay for it.
In my first 100 days, I will work with Council and the community to reprioritize our Integrated Community Sustainability Plan, protecting green spaces, our tree canopy and waterfront while preparing for extreme weather. I have served on the Cobourg Heritage Advisory Committee for eight years and I will continue to advocate to conserve our Town’s historic nature and heritage properties.
3. What actions will you take in cooperation with Northumberland County government to create supportive housing across the region?
Supportive housing gives people a stable home with on-site care and everyday support. We need more of it across Northumberland, alongside cooperative housing and rent-geared-to-income rentals, with particular attention to seniors at risk of homelessness.
As Deputy Mayor, I served on the Intermunicipal Housing and Homelessness Taskforce. At County Council, I will push to turn its recommendations into a shared action plan across all seven municipalities, with clear responsibilities, timelines and public reporting with the goal of creating housing across the region so all communities have access to housing.
The County has identified lands for housing. We need to establish what each site requires, from servicing and approvals to financing, and bring together housing providers, builders and healthcare partners to get viable projects moving.
We can learn from organizations such as Indwell and partnerships led by United Ways that combine affordable housing with on-site health and social supports. Social enterprise partners can also help connect residents to employment and life skills training.
These homes need reliable funding for both construction and ongoing care. Government cannot be expected to or should not build housing on their own. I will work with County colleagues to pursue that funding and build partnerships across the region. Success will be measured by homes built, people housed and the support they receive to move forward.
