Body: Housing Advisory Task Force
Type: Agenda
Meeting: Committee Meeting
Date: February 11, 2026
Collection: Committees and Task Forces
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Housing Advisory Task Force Agenda 9:00 AM - Wednesday, February 11, 2026 Council Chambers Zoom Registration
Call to Order
Traditional Land Acknowledgement
We begin this gathering by acknowledging and celebrating these traditional lands as a gathering place of the first peoples and their ancestors who are entrusted to care for Mother Earth since time immemorial. We do so respecting both the land and the Indigenous People who continue to walk with us through this world. Today, the Township of North Frontenac is committed to working with Indigenous Peoples and all residents to pursue a united path of reconciliation.
Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest and General Nature Thereof
Housing Advisory Task Force Notes
a) Notes of the January 14, 2026 HATF Meeting as approved via email and were received for information at the February 6, 2026 Regular Meeting of Council.
Housing Advisory Task Force - 14 Jan 2026 - Minutes - Pdf 2 - 4
Business Arising
a) Township Property Listing
https://www.northfrontenac.com/en/township-services/municipal- property-listing.aspx
b) 2026 Tax Rates
2026 Tax Rates 5
Presentations
a) Abbeyfield
presentation Abbeyfield Lakefield (Canada) North Frontenac 6 - 31
b) JP Melville, HATF Member re: Funding Opportunties
Housing Committee comments Funding for 11 Feb 2026 ACC 32 - 36
New Business
Public Forum
Adjournment
a) Meeting adjourned at ____________ a.m.
Page 1 of 36
North Frontenac Housing Advisory Task Force Minutes January 14, 2026
Housing Advisory Task Force Minutes 9:00 AM - Wednesday, January 14, 2026 Council Chambers
Present:
Mayor Gerry Lichty (Chair); Councillor John Inglis; Councillor Wayne
Good; JP Melville; Tom Hunter (virtual) and Steve Sunderland
Absent with Regret:
Also Present: Kelly Watkins, Dipl.M.A., Dipl.M.M., Treasurer and Brooke Ross, Dipl.M.A., Dipl.M.M., Manager of Community Development (MCD)
Call to Order The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 9:00 a.m.
Traditional Land Acknowledgement
Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest and General Nature Thereof None.
Housing Advisory Task Force Notes
a) Notes of the December 10, 2025 HATF Meeting as approved via email and were received for information at the January 16, 2026 Regular Meeting of Council.
The HATF briefly discussed different Abbeyfield models that are present in Ontario. The February HATF meeting will include a presentation from Abbeyfield.
Rob Lesperance, Resident shared a 5 minute overview of his previous presentation to Council, of his model which looks at remote workers to seniors. It is based on annual income, what is considered to be affordable housing ($1500/month), tiny home solutions and maximum of 650 square feet. The HATF has asked Rob to present the full presentation at a future HATF meeting.
Business Arising
a) 2025 - 2026 Work Plan
When a developer comes, what challenges do they find. The EDTF sub group went through this exact question and came to the conclusion that this Township has similar restrictions to other communities.
Developmental Concerns that HATF see:
Page 1 of 3
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North Frontenac Housing Advisory Task Force Minutes January 14, 2026
- Sharing Septic systems (under 10,000L), sharing well, 5-6 small homes, with one common owner: Planning mechanisms don’t allow this to happen currently. Could potentially develop this concept, a process map and run it through testing mechanisms and see what road blocks are hit. Councillor Inglis and Steve Sunderland will work on a demonstration plan and bring this back to the March HATF meeting for discussion.
- It is very important to have appropriate site selection for a proposed project (i.e. potable water, near a plowed roadway, access to utilities, etc.).
- Possible Provincial/Federal Funding opportunities - one is Municipal led and one is privately led. Potential funding can support a business model that would fund this and not have the financials dependent on the Township. JP Melville will do a presentation on this at a future HATF Meeting.
- Current stock of Municipal Land - this will be included in the next HATF Meeting.
- Financing - 20% is required to be put down for a mortgage, plus $5,000 - $10,000 in additional costs, just to start up. Township could potentially lend money as an option, lease land, provide land with a conditional agreements on what the development would look like or provide potential tax breaks to property owners to donate land. Need to ensure we are working within bonusing regulations, there are requirements we would need to follow.
- Two different types of communities in North Frontenac, we have our seasonal residents and we have our permanent year round residents. Keep the development small which should hopefully help our year round permanent residents, but also keep the development small enough that it wont create over-development and keep our land similar to why people like to cottage here.
- Potential direction for the Township to think more about purchasing more land.
- The cost of the land is sometimes arbitrary, its more about how much it is actually going to cost to start to build (red tape, planning applications, studies, etc.)
- What does it cost to buy an existing home (cheapest $374k, most expensive 1.3m) - average homes are $375 - $600k in North Frontenac on current listings.
- For information a $332k purchase for a mobile home concept ($422 a square foot), not always are these options any cheaper for people to obtain. This did not include any services, etc.
Key Takeaways:
- Rob Lesperance Presentation (Feb 11 HATF)
- Abbeyfield Presentation (Feb 11 HATF)
- JP Melville Presentation re: Funding Opportunities (Feb 11 HATF)
- Treasurer provide current tax rates (Feb 11 HATF)
- MCD to provide current Township property listing (Feb 11 HATF)
- Art Hannigan Presentation (March 11 HATF)
- John Inglis and Steve Sunderland Concepts (March 11 HATF)
This Task Force is not talking about social housing, that is dealt with through the City of
Kingston. It was mentioned that we cannot tackle every problem, but we can try to sort
out some.
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North Frontenac Housing Advisory Task Force Minutes January 14, 2026
New Business None.
Adjournment
a) Meeting adjourned at 10:39 a.m.
Recommendations to Council Be It Resolved That Council receives for information the January 14, 2026, Notes of the Housing Advisory Task Force (HATF).
Received by Council on February 6, 2026.
Mayor Gerry Lichty, Chair
Page 3 of 3 Page 4 of 36 Page 5 of 36 Social Enterprise Presentation Prepared by::Ron Black February 2026 A Unique – Small Scale Model for Seniors Shared Accommodation Presentation for North Frontenac Township Page 6 of 36 Abbeyfield Success for • Abbeyfield has been a successful model of affordable housing for moderate income seniors for over 70 years. Starting in the United Kingdom in 1957 and spreading to 800 Houses in 15 countries around the world, including 20 houses in Canada. • Abbeyfield houses are ideal for many who seek a place that preserves their privacy while promoting a sense of security, community, companionship and support. • Monthly costs will be +/-$2300 compared to a retirement home at
$5500 per month. Includes rent & the services of a cook & house Manager. Page 7 of 36 Abbeyfield Success for • A home in shared accommodation for 12-20 elderly persons living Independently on low to moderate income • Monthly costs will be +/-$2000 compared to a retirement home at >$5000 per month. Includes rent & the services of a cook & house Manager. • Abbeyfield houses are managed by volunteer boards of directors and involve volunteers in residents’ activities. • Full/part time housekeeper/cook/administrator Page 8 of 36 Abbeyfield House Society of Lakefield • AHSL was founded by Dewi Jones in 2017 looking
housing options for his sister in the UK • AHSL Incorporated in 2019 as a not-for-profit without share capital and acquired CRA charitable status. • After AHSL was denied a donation of property by the municipality in July 2020, a resident came forward with an opportunity to purchase a 4-acre property in Lakefield • AHSL Purchased 93 Ermatinger in January 2021 at fair market value. Page 9 of 36 Supporting Social Enterprise Projects • Total cost to purchase of property = $650K • Unable to acquire loans from chartered lenders or municipalities to purchase the property • Community Futures KL funded 70% = $450K • AHSL Board Member Bond Loans = $70K • Social Enterprise Community Bond Investors = $130K • Apartment rental income from the bungalow covers our interest only loans and operating costs for the property purchase Page 10 of 36 Page 11 of 36 Abbeyfield House Society of Lakefield • The Abbeyfield Lakefield development site is a four-acre property with 150’ frontage on serviced land in Lakefield • Property has a 50 year old bungalow with basement walkout that currently has two rentable three-bedroom apartments • Current Official Plan designation = Residential Type1 & Future Development at the rear of the property • AHSL completed a Zoning By-law & Official Plan Amendment to Medium Density Residential R3 exception & a severance for the existing house and urban sized lot.
• Retained 3.5 acres will be used for the AHSL build. Page 12 of 36 Abbeyfield Site Challenges for • Approximately 1.5 acres deemed environmentally protected that wasn’t previously mapped by the local conservation authority (ORCA) • ORCA reduced the setback from 30m to 10m to allow access to the rear of the property for development. • Significant planning challenges resulted in the long laneway, additional servicing costs, reduced development area and managing the hydro geological aspected of the property. Page 13 of 36 Project Planning Costs • Township/County development pre-consultation meeting identified studies required to complete planning justification, severance and zoning/OPA requirements. Planning fees and professional services budget to exceeded $125K for this phase. • The project meets the CMHC definition of affordable housing (70% market) & CMHC is engaged in this shared accommodation project at the request of federal housing ministry. CMHC had not previously supported similar NFP projects. • CMHC has provided initial Seed Funding grant & loan up to $80K to assist in our planning costs to date. No funding to complete site plan approval or construction drawings is provided. Page 14 of 36 Project Planning Costs • Completed the Official Plan Amendment and property severance of the existing house in 2024. • Sold existing house and urban lot in 2024 for more than we paid for the original property, outside of real estate fees. • Retained 3.5-acre zoned R3 Exception (Shared Accommodation) was valued at >$1Million. • Secured a $250K loan from CKL Community Futures to complete Site Plan and Construction Drawings. Page 15 of 36 The Abbeyfield House • The home will compliment local architecture and employ an appropriate level of finishes. • 17 one bed suites of 450 sq.ft. with en-suite bathrooms and kitchenettes will be built. 5 barrier free and 12 accessible units. • Two, 2-bedroom units will, one for the live-in House Manager and the second for two Trent Uuniversity BSW or BN students. • The home will include shared dining, kitchen, library/computer room, sitting rooms and laundry facilities. • The home will include a meeting room and accessible washrooms for NFP groups and residents to stay active. Page 16 of 36 Conceptual Site Plan Moving Forward Preliminary Drawings Page 17 of 36 Floor Plans Page 18 of 36 Development Challenges • Property challenges forces a new building plan to include a full two storey House. • Property elevation requires a sanitary pump station to move effluent from the house • Additional engeneering costs to complete a grading plan to manage water on the property because of large amount of hard surfaces. • These changes took another 6 months to complete. Page 19 of 36 Page 20 of 36 Page 21 of 36 Moving Forward • AHSL completed all engineering, environmental studies and our conceptual site plan by June 2022. • Planning justification, severance application, zoning change and official plan amendment were submitted in July 2022 for peer review. • Township/County peer reviews application and provides feedback for any additional information required before going to the public meeting and council approval. • After completing additional studies, our application for ZBA & OPA finally make it to public meetings in July & August 2023. • I declared a perceived conflict of interest at the public meeting. Page 22 of 36 Site Plan Approval - A • Detailed site plan work was initiated in the fall of 2023 • Due to additional storm water management, hard surface and site servicing challenges within the site, it took significant time to complete the site plan. • Site plan was submitted for peer review in summer of 2024 and returned to us in fall 2024 for additional work. Page 23 of 36 Site Plan Approval - B • Revised site plan was submitted for peer review in April 2025 and returned to us in June with additional minor changes requested. • Revised site plan with final changes submitted to Selwyn planning Department in September
• After 8 years, thousands of volunteer hours and almost $225K in planning costs, the plan was approved in October 2025!!! Page 24 of 36 Page 25 of 36 What’s Next? • Completed construction drawings by December 2025 at a cost of $180K. Total pre-construction $$ in excess of $400K. • Class C Proforma ($9M) for application submission to Build Canada Homes for construction financing has been completed • Approval of financial package in April 2026 in negotiation • Site clearing this fall/winter in readiness for construction early 2026, occupancy in fall 2027 Page 26 of 36 Capital Campaign • AHSL engaged fundraising consultants to do a pre capital campaign assessment to confirm community support. • The Assessment outcome supported a $1.1M capital campaign goal would be feasible. • $500K in donations and $600K in gifts in kind from construction service providers and naming rights within the House and property. • Capital Campaign will start this spring 2026 after we receive support from Build Canada Homes. Page 27 of 36 Municipalities Role in Affordable Housing • 1. Zoning and Land Use Policies: Adjust zoning regulations (exception zoning) to encourage the development of affordable housing in appropriate areas. • 2. Density Bonuses: Offer developers incentives, like increased density allowances, in exchange
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