Letter: City of Owen Sound Cannot 'Take a Pass' on Affordable Housing Action

A resident urges Owen Sound Council to adopt stronger, mandatory affordable housing commitments ahead of the Nov. 24 Special Official Plan Amendment Meeting, and provides specific ways to do it.

Nov 13, 2025

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Editor,

I’ve lost count of the number of times the topics of the unhoused have come up in conversations and social media posts lately. Many have asked City Council to take a more active role in addressing homelessness; however, it seems that many on Council remain steadfast in their view that the issue is the responsibility of the county and federal governments.

If you believe that the City should do more to help homeless people in our community, you now have an opportunity to demand greater clarity and solid commitments.

A Special Meeting of City Council has been scheduled for Monday, November 24, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. to receive public feedback and discuss a proposed Official Plan Amendment (O.P.A.).

This Plan is the City’s contract with residents and guides land-use planning, including affordable housing.

We know that 38.5% (1,602) of tenant households in the City spend 30% or more of their income on shelter costs. People living under these circumstances are often considered precariously housed and vulnerable to becoming unhoused.

This figure is consistent with what others are seeing. For example, since 2017, the number of meals served by OSHaRE has increased 14-fold and is expected to support close to 1,000 people every month by the end of this year.

The Salvation Army Food Bank assists 1,000 clients monthly and as noted in a recent Owen Sound Current articles, the United Way of Bruce Grey’s Utility Assistance Program helped 751people in Bruce and Grey stay connected to heat and electricity between July 2024 and June 2025 and last winter Safe ‘N Sound welcomed an average of 30 people overnight and between 70 and 80 people each day at its drop-in centre.

Without these supports and those provided by the County and Brightshores, there is no doubt that the number of unhoused in our community would increase.

Despite the opportunity to address the housing affordability crisis afforded by this revision to the Official Plan, the City is opting to ‘take a pass.’

Of the 8 places in the Plan where the City could have addressed affordable housing, it fails to do so. In 4 cases, the word “will” is used, and in the other 4, “may” is used. In contrast to discretionary words like “may” and “will,” the word “shall” creates an obligation.

These terms should be clearly defined in the Official Plan so that citizens can better understand if/when the City is actually committing to doing something.

If you would like to see the City make firm commitments to increase the stock of affordable housing, you can write (808 2nd Avenue East, Owen Sound, ON N4K 2H4) or email them (council@owensound.ca) and (notice@owensound.ca) prior to the Special Meeting and insist they make some or all of the following changes to the Official Plan Amendment:

Section:
3.1.5.1 The City ~~will~~ shall ~~work toward achieving~~ strive to achieve the County goal of 30 percent of all new housing units meeting the threshold of affordable housing.
3.1.5.2 The City ~~will~~ shall support a range and mix of affordable housing options and densities to meet the projected needs of current and future residents of the City by establishing and implementing minimum targets for the provision of housing that is affordable to low and moderate income households.
3.1.5.3 The City ~~will~~ shall support affordable housing in proximity to transit and amenities to increase mobility and accessibility to goods and services, healthy food retailers, commercial areas, employment, medical and health facilities, recreation, transit, and trails.
3.1.5.4 The City ~~may~~ shall utilize incentive programs, Community Improvement Plans, Zoning By-laws, a Community Planning Permit System (CPPS), and an Inclusionary Zoning Policy to support the construction and maintenance of affordable housing units.
3.1.5.5 The City ~~will~~ shall support the integration of affordable housing units within the existing community fabric in all designations and Planning Areas, where residential uses are permitted and through development and redevelopment of underutilized commercial and institutional sites.
3.1.5.8 The City shall support and incorporate the use of land-banking of public lands and/or housing first disposal of surplus lands policies, whereby lands deemed surplus to County or City needs could be added to a public land bank (i.e. an inventory of available lands) and then ~~may~~ shall be offered for affordable housing development first, prior to the consideration of other uses. A County or City land bank or inventory ~~may~~ shall be established for affordable housing needs, to offer low or no-cost lands for such development.

In addition, the City has another option available to help rectify the housing affordability crisis. In 2016, the Liberal Government amended the Planning Act to include a tool called Inclusionary Zoning (IZ). This gave municipalities the authority to require a percentage of affordable housing units in new residential developments.

There was no cost to the taxpayer, and developers could not appeal this requirement.

The Province has since restricted the use of IZ to an “area that is a protected major transit station area,” and in 2025 imposed upper limits (5% of units) on the percentage municipalities can require.

Despite these constraints, there is still a process, called the Community Planning Permit System (CPPS), by which municipalities can implement planning policies to increase the stock of affordable housing.

If you would like to see the City employ CPPS, you can write/email them at the addresses listed above prior to the Special Meeting and insist they make the following changes to the Official Plan Amendment:

Section:
3.1.5.6 The City ~~may~~ shall complete an any required background study and/or assessment report, ~~work to develop inclusionary zoning policies~~ establish a Community Planning Permit System (CPPS), and implement an Inclusionary Zoning Policy as soon as possible.

In theory, had Owen Sound been an early adopter of Inclusionary Zoning, it is conceivable that all of the recently announced housing projects could have been required to include a specified number of affordable units. Sadly, the City did not amend its O.P.A. regarding Inclusionary Zoning until 2022, where, as noted above, it limited its commitment to “may.”

In contrast, Grey County amended its Official Plan in 2018, noting it supports lower-tier municipalities adopting Inclusionary Zoning practices.

To their credit, City staff have addressed opportunities to increase affordable housing. In 2022, they supported the County's request that the Province consider allowing broader use of Inclusionary Zoning across the Province, rather than the current limitations that restrict use to protected major transit station areas and areas within a development permit system.

And in 2023, they noted that updating the Community Improvement Plan would allow affordable housing projects to utilize Tax Increment Equivalent Grants (TIEGs), a municipal program that provides financial incentives to developers for specific projects, such as affordable housing or urban revitalization.

Yet, here we are in 2025, and again, the proposed O.P.A. avoids words that would commit the City to several available options that could address the affordable housing crisis.

Time is up.

Yes, it will take a significant amount of staff time and effort to develop the policy framework, establish a new process, and implement the change, but the situation has been characterized as a “crisis,” so if not now, when?

David McLeish
Owen Sound

Letters to the Editor do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of The Owen Sound Current and its editor or publisher.