In an effort to address the city’s growing housing needs, Cold Lake city council has approved a significant financial commitment to support local housing development.
During the October 8 meeting, an amendment to the 2024 operating budget was passed, allocating $521,911 from the city’s unrestricted surplus to fully fund the Multi-Unit Rental Housing Incentive Program.
The program, first introduced by council in March, aims to alleviate the critical rental housing shortage by providing grants of up to $1 million to incentivize the development of purpose-built rental units. The city of Cold Lake’s Housing Needs Assessment had previously highlighted the urgent need for more rental housing, and this initiative is expected to help meet that demand.
Council has set a cap of 100 rental units for the program, which is expected to run for one year or until the funding cap is reached. The incentive provides rebates to developers upon the completion of new rental units, directly addressing the city’s rental housing shortfall.
Kristy Isert, General Manager of Corporate Services, explained during the meeting how deposits collected earlier in the year were reallocated to support the program. These deposits, known as Development Completion Deposits and Development Agreement Securities, are typically collected from developers to ensure compliance with infrastructure or site improvement conditions. After reviewing these deposits in spring 2024, the council decided to repurpose the unreturnable funds to bolster the housing program.
A total of $478, 088 from these deposits has already been allocated to the program, but Isert noted that the target funding was set at $1 million. To cover the remaining balance, she recommended drawing $521,911 from the city’s unrestricted surplus. “That pumps up the total funding for the program to $1 million for the multi-unit rental housing,” Isert said.
Council made a motion to approve the amendment to the 2024 operating budget, ensuring that the program is fully funded and ready to assist in the development of much-needed rental units in Cold Lake.
