The Simcoe County Home Builders' Association hosted a summit Monday to discuss the provincial government’s Housing Supply and Action Plan and how it can benefit this region.
The issue of housing and home construction continues to be a hot issue in Barrie, where the city had Canada's fourth-highest rental prices during the summer of 2018.
Monday's meeting at the Barrie Country Club was for many in the local home-building industry and municipal leaders a chance to discuss the Ontario government’s Housing Supply and Action Plan and find a way to create more housing in Simcoe County.
Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman was on hand and spoke of the importance of creating homes for the growing City of Barrie, but also being smart in doing so.
“We often hear about the old east end," he said. "What makes that one of the most desirable areas? Why are the prices higher there and why is there so much demand?
"Well, they’ve got grid streets, they’ve got big trees, they have neighbourhood-commercial, they’ve got a character to them," the mayor added. "But they’ve also got a mix of housing types and they are right beside each other. You’ve got a three-storey apartment building beside townhouses, beside single-detached and that kind of mix of housing was built when the economic conditions for development supported that range of housing.
"We got away from that and I don’t think we served our community particularly well in doing so.”
Joe Vaccaro, the chief executive officer with the Ontario Homebuilders Home Association, said he wanted to make sure there was positive conversation in a time when some associations and municipalities are butting heads over intensification.
“What we have here is positive conflict,” said Vaccaro. “Municipal leaders organize how their communities are going to grow and developers coming in and provide their private-sector expertise. There are conflicts, but there are times when it just makes sense.
"But what we all know is change is coming," he added. "Growth is coming, so how are we all going to proceed with it.
"The other side of it is the existing community and how it can be difficult to manage change, you moved into the area and you like it the way it is," Vaccaro said. "The thing is most definitely change and growth are coming, so the thing to do is be a part of that change, participate in the conversation of the change and that way we get the best outcome for everybody.”
