Funding application to increase smaller, affordable housing units in Whitecourt submitted, with results expected soon

Bringing lasting changes to Whitecourt’s housing system is the goal of a new project recently applied for
by the Town of Whitecourt. Council received a breakdown of the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) at a
recent Policies and Priorities Committee meeting and voted in favour of it at their September 25 regular
meeting. To qualify for funding, municipalities had to prepare an action plan approved by their councils
before they could sign the granting agreement.
“Our action plan that we put forward is to create 138 new housing units in Whitecourt over a three-year
period, and there are five initiatives that we have included,” explained Chelsea Grande, Director of
Community Services. The five initiatives were to increase the supply of studio/bachelor & one-bedroom
dwelling units, secondary suites, asset management framework and policy, online permitting and
updating flood mapping into Webmap.
Grande explained that the first initiative, increasing the supply of studio/bachelor suites and one-
bedroom dwelling units, would be done through incentives to developers, non-profits, and housing
management bodies. She said that the secondary suite initiative would also incentivize residents.
Grande explained that incentives would differ based on whether the unit is an affordable living space, its
proximity to transit and accessibility.
Speaking to the online permitting initiative, Councillor Braden Lanctot asked if the process for permitting
changed with moving to online access. Jennine Loberg, Director of Planning and Development, said the
process remained unchanged. “The permitting process would remain the same. You would just be able
to submit your application online. That’s the goal we are trying to achieve,” she explained. The online
process would streamline things for both the public and Town Administration.
The HAF aims to improve a community’s housing supply and increase availability for residents seeking
smaller living spaces. The agenda package explained that “through innovation and partnerships with
local governments, homes can be built in cities and towns, creating affordable, inclusive, and diverse
communities.” If the proposal is approved and Whitecourt gets the green light to move forward, the
Town would be eligible for $5,377,200.
Grande explained that the current program, reminding Council members that specific points in the
process could change as the program is still being tweaked, would include the Town doing yearly
updates. “Every year, we would submit how many permits we issued, and the funding would be based
on the permits that were completed,” she said.
Councillor Tara Baker asked if a developer would receive funding before completing a suite/dwelling or
afterwards. Grande said they would receive it after completion, adding that the Town of Whitecourt
would act as the funding administrator. Councillor Baker then asked what would happen if they didn’t
reach the top. “If we blew 80 units out of the park, and the remaining 58 weren’t realized, we’re not on
the hook for that, right?”
Grande explained that the funding would be pro-rated, meaning that funding would be rolled out
proportionately for the number of units created, and Whitecourt would not be on the hook should the

top number of 138 not be reached. “You wouldn’t get that funding, and we wouldn’t give it out because
you only get it once your permit is complete,” she clarified.
Town CAO Peter Smyl said the hope of the program would be to “spur a build” by providing incentives.
“It’s a new program, and we want to take advantage of it because it does help developers and builders,
and we want to make sure we are first in line for it,” he said. “It’s still a risk to a builder, just like it is
now, but the fortunate part is that we would have some type of incentive program and could write a
check to them once the project is complete.”
Whitecourt’s current housing stock is 4,354. Should the Town’s application to the HAF program be
approved, developers/non-profits/housing bodies could access $23,000 per unit for converting/building
studio or bachelor and one-bedroom units within 1.5km of transit. The incentive lowers to $18,000 for
larger units, as the aim is to create smaller units. If the developer decides to make the unit affordable,
they will receive an incentive of $3,600 per unit per year for three years. Any accessible units would
receive an additional incentive of $5,000. Similar incentives would be available for secondary suites.
As for where the number 138 came from, the agenda package explained that the HAF Action Plan had to
show that the annual housing growth rate in Whitecourt would increase by at least ten percent and that
the rate would exceed 1.1 percent. After the dust settled on the math, 138 was the magic number for
Whitecourt. If approval to move forward into the program is received, the Town Administration will
work to promote it to local developers, housing management bodies, businesses, non-profits, and
residents.