The Yorkton Housing Committee has been around since March of 2011, and since that time has made some progress in dealing with the housing situation in the city. The committee has put together a housing plan, and identified the needs of the city. The committee, which includes builders, real estate, and financial institutions and those involved in social housing and special needs.
Committee co-chair Tom Seeley says part of the credit for the creation of the group needs to go to a housing needs assessment established by Faisal Anwar. Seeley says that the assessment outlined the areas where the committee needed to focus, particularly when it came to gaps in affordability. He also says that the long term plan was derived from the initial needs assessment.
One of the areas which the city has been leading with the committee has been early steps for the Head Start on a Home program. The earliest approved projects were in the Yorkton with the Fifth Avenue Estates as well as on Good Spirit Crescent. Committee co-chair Ron Skinner says that it's been a successful initiative, with projects steadily being introduced under the program which are providing a more easily attainable home for new homeowners within the city.
Other areas where Skinner sees success has been rental property incentives, which he says has lead to a pair of sixplexes as well as a twenty-four unit building under construction right now, as well as more projects that will likely be announced soon.
"What we've done as a committee has been very effective along with the city as well as the province's head start program, so it's been a great venture to get the community together and get things going for our city," he says.
He also notes that the focus is not on one area of housing, but the entire continuum, from the social housing to more expensive new homes. Skinner says that the housing issues affect businesses trying to recruit new employees from out of town, and a good housing stock for the entire community is necessary for economic development.
The committee itself is made up of members from a variety of different areas in the community, but Seeley says that it's a community project, and community involvement is one of the ways that it will succeed. He notes that they have connected people to get their projects and ideas going in the past, and he says that since everyone has a stake in the housing situation, everyone is welcome to connect with the committee and present their views.
"Collaboration and bringing the communication is what we're all about. We want to make it clear to the community that we are open to have folks come in who have housing ideas and concerns to talk to us... We are really open to people to come from the community with their concerns, and more importantly their solutions, to come and talk to us," Seeley says.
Mayor James Wilson says that the committee has lead to many firsts in the city, including things like the early success of the Head Start projects, the Habitat for Humanity faith build, as well as the Yale Harbor project for people with acquired brain injuries. Seeley adds that there have been unique efforts to get more rental units, such as encouraging secondary suite capability in the build on the former C.J. Houston grounds, to give the option of a rental unit.
While there has been success, the housing issue in the city is a long term issue. Seeley says one of the main issues they need to address is rental housing, and there needs to be both an increase in market rentals as well as subsidized housing in the committee. Another issue is land, and Seeley says that while the city is doing well it is an issue that needs to be closely monitored to ensure there's enough land to build that housing on.
