ROMA Insider: See you at the Plowing Match - September 2022
Rural Attainable Housing: Task Force Offers Solutions
ROMA shared the final report of its Attainable Housing Task Force at the 2022 AMO Conference in August. The report offers practical steps and solutions to address the rural housing crisis that fall into one of five themes:
- Clarify provincial planning legislation and regulations to streamline the process for governments, those proposing housing projects, and citizens.
- Give municipal governments authority and flexibility to encourage, review and approve housing solutions that fit their communities and are consistent with good planning principles and key planning documents like their Official Plans.
- Accelerate planning processes for specific types of municipally approved housing projects.
- Provide incentives to reduce long-term risks for those proposing housing projects, and to support financially viable projects at scales that work in rural Ontario.
- Undertake tasks that can get municipally approved housing projects out of the gate faster to reduce costly delays.
From these five categories, the Task Force further developed detailed technical recommendations. These recommendations, along with the full report, can be viewed at www.roma.on.ca/housing.
The Attainable Housing Task Force was formed in early 2022 as the first step of ROMA’s action plan, Opportunities for Rural Ontario in a Post-COVID World. The working group included ROMA Board members, municipal staff and housing industry experts. This report is the result of the Task Force’s vast knowledge of the housing sector and dedication to finding real-world, practical solutions to rural Ontario’s housing shortage.
ROMA attends International Plowing March Sept 20 - 24
The ROMA Board will participate in the 103rd International Plowing Match and Rural Expo. This year’s event will be held from September 20 to 24 in Kemptville, located in North Grenville, United Counties of Leeds & Grenville.
The International Plowing Match is a five-day celebration of agricultural and rural living that welcomes more than 80,000 visitors. ROMA will host an exhibitor display in the North Grenville tent.
Rural communities and the people who live within them are the core drivers of ROMA’s advocacy work. ROMA Board members look forward to meeting with visitors to discuss rural challenges and priorities, and to chat about ROMA’s latest initiatives, including its work related to attainable housing.
LAS Resources: A Better Way to Manage Risk
Municipal liability and risk management cost municipalities millions of dollars every year. It's particularly challenging for rural municipalities with slim resources and staff capacity. Check out this blog from ClearRisk, an AMO/LAS digital partner that can help streamline work and provide data that can help reduce costs over all.
ROMA Board of Directors
Board Zone Contacts
• Zone 1: Dennis Crevits, Councillor, Municipality of Central Elgin
• Zone 2: Chris White, Mayor, Township of Guelph-Eramosa
• Zone 3: Lloyd Ferguson, Councillor, City of Hamilton
• Zone 4: Allan Thompson, Immediate Past Chair, AMO Rural Caucus, Mayor, Town of Caledon
• Zone 5: Pam Sayne, Councillor, Township of Minden Hills
• Zone 6: Kim Love, Mayor, Township of Madawaska Valley
• Zone 7: Cameron Wales, Councillor, City of Brockville
• Zone 8: Eli El-Chantiry, First Vice Chair, Councillor, City of Ottawa
• Zone 9: Bill Vrebosch, AMO Rural Caucus, Councillor, City of North Bay
• Zone 10: Janet Hager, Councillor, Municipality of Red Lake
AMO Rural Caucus Members
• Robin Jones, ROMA Chair, Mayor, Village of Westport
• Christine Robinson, 2nd Vice Chair, Mayor, Municipality of West Grey
• Peter Emon, Reeve, Town of Renfrew
• Sandra Datars Bere, CAO, Corporation of the County of Bruce
• Rainey Weisler, Deputy Mayor, Municipality of Bayham
Check out the ROMA Zone map to learn more about your ROMA Zone.