A special closed-session council meeting is scheduled for this afternoon in city council chambers. Although details are sparse due to the close nature of the meeting, Airdrie Mayor, Peter Brown stated that there will be a discussion on the HAF Action Plan Update.

While no further explanation was given, there is a possibility that councillors and the mayor will be discussing the Housing Accelerator Fund and the city's subsequent application for the funding. 

The Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) is a federal government initiative which allocated four billion dollars to support municipalities across Canada to help build homes faster. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the fund is meant to remove barriers to encourage local initiatives to build more homes, faster. 

"The program is helping increase housing supply – and supporting the development of communities that are more affordable, diverse and climate-resilient."

During a council meeting earlier this month, the HAF brought up in discussions, in which it was noted that the city's application was still under review.

The HAF has been a topic of discussion in numerous city council meetings stretching back to June 2023. During a presentation to council in June on the Affordable Housing Principled Action Plan and the CMHC Housing Accelerator Fund city documents stated that, 'the fund’s objective is to achieve at least 100,000 more homes and support lasting changes that will improve housing supply for years to come.'

"The HAF has a much higher potential to leverage external funding applied to housing solutions in Airdrie than any other previously pursued funding opportunity. HAF funding incentives are applied to all types of housing, however, proposals that include Transit Orientated Development (TOD), Missing Middle Housing and Affordable Housing will receive exponentially more funding."

In an example provided by the CMHC, an applicant who proposes achieving 500 permitted homes of diverse housing types would be eligible for $16 million in HAF grant funding.

"Recipients of HAF also enjoy a high level of flexibility in determining how the funds are used beyond resourcing the proposed HAF 7 Item Plan. City investments in housing infrastructure and community-related infrastructure that support housing (like roads or bridges) are allowed uses of HAF funding."

According to the CMHC, there were two funding streams available for applicants, an urban funding stream, which was for municipalities of a population over 10,0000, as well as a rural funding stream. Thus far in Alberta, Calgary has successfully applied and been granted funds through the HAF.

In November 2023, it was announced that the Government of Canada and the City of Calgary reached an agreement to fast-track over 6,800 housing units over the next three years.

"The agreement, under the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) will provide over $228 million in funding to support seven initiatives that range from prioritized and accelerated approvals to zoning bylaw amendments that allow for more missing middle rowhouses, townhouses and infill housing in established neighbourhoods, to inclusive and affordable housing development," a City of Calgary news release stated.

The CMHC has also published a list of best practices based on successful applications. Some of the best practices included among other things ending exclusionary zoning, which means that there would be a halt to low-density zoning and regulation that excludes housing types such as affordable and social housing in residential areas, as well as making municipally owned lands available for housing.

Other best practices also included prioritized/enhanced development approval processes for rental and affordable housing and reducing or eliminating parking standards to increase project viability, and density and reduce carbon footprint.

Today's closed session is scheduled for 3 p.m. but it will not be streamed online, nor will it be open to the public. 

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