Email from D. Franklin - Affordable Housing Project
Letter advocating for the adoption of alternative housing policies, including tiny homes and container homes.
From: Daniel Franklin affordablehousingprojectcanada@gmail.com Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2020 1:20 PM To: Mayor And Council Email mayorandcouncil@viewroyal.ca Subject: Affordable Housing Project
Dear Municipal Councillors:
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. There are 3,573 municipalities across Canada. I, along with a group of business owners and individuals, are looking for municipalities across Canada that want to participate in the next housing revolution. We only need a small number of those municipalities, even just one, to get the ball rolling. Now using the word “revolution” may seem like hyperbole, but I do not believe it is. Tiny homes, 3D printed homes, off-site prebuilt/prefab, and many other new building methods are being adopted by communities around the world. Being one of the first municipalities to jump on board will give your city or town multiple competitive advantages. There is a massive pent up demand for locations that will allow for dwellings such as tiny homes. The first municipality/s that move to allow alternative dwellings will be able to attract new citizens and businesses.
This is not for communities that want to limit their population, or who do not want affordable housing solutions available in their community.
Here are some of the policies that we are looking for:
- Prioritizing home ownership.
- Moving away from the commoditization of real estate.
- Regulating any short term rentals (Airbnb, VRBO, etc) that compromise housing affordability in your community. Not all short term rentals compromise housing affordability.
- Eliminating minimum building size. Allowing for smaller homes or tiny homes on smaller lots.
- Allowing for alternative housing types. Container homes, tiny homes, 3D printed homes, as well as affordable fee simple row housing.
- Finding ways to open up new affordable land and lots for building. Making subdivision of existing lots easier.
- Reducing the barriers to building new. Barriers being inspections, municipal fees, specific zoning requirements, and general red tape.
Goals:
- To find communities where affordable housing is a priority. If a municipality were to follow some, or all of the above recommendations, they would be well on their way to creating housing affordability.
- To create a showcase of affordable buildings. One idea is to create a demonstration “village” of different housing builds from different companies.
- To find communities suitable for online workers. Telecommuters, digital nomads, distance workers, etc. More and more people only need a solid internet connection to do their job. This means that they can work from almost anywhere, and are often looking for locations with a low cost of living.
Thank you for reading this letter. If your municipal council has an interest in any one of these policies and goals, please feel free to contact me for more detailed information. If you have already embarked on one or more of these initiates, I would be grateful to hear about your efforts in this regard. Are there any reasons why you believe that your municipality wouldn’t be able to implement any of these policies? Please let me know what they are.
Sincerely,
Daniel Franklin
Affordable Housing Advocate Affordable Housing Project
Visit FORMAFIST.COM for more information.