The city is seeking feedback on its updates to the Winnipeg Housing Policy.
It will be holding a public open house on Wednesday, October 17, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the University of Winnipeg, room 2M70 in the Manitoba Hall building, second floor.
The city’s public service is in the process of updating the Winnipeg Housing Policy. The intent of this policy is to address areas within the jurisdiction of the city, and articulate the city’s responsibilities in working with federal and provincial partners on policy and programs that support the needs of the Winnipeggers.
The city, province and federal government all have roles, mandates and jurisdiction related to housing. The city’s role has typically included municipal planning bylaws that regulate land use and building form, and programs to encourage development that supports and maintains the housing stock in Winnipeg.
In 2011, the city adopted OurWinnipeg, a long-term municipal development plan that includes direction for housing and related infrastructure. Complete Communities Direction Strategy is a supporting strategy for OurWinnipeg that further guides housing, land use and development.
The purpose of the Winnipeg Housing Policy is to provide further direction to support implementation of OurWinnipeg and Complete Communities to achieve a sustainable, healthy housing environment.
Policy is important as it sets the framework and parameters for development of specific programs and strategies. It is intended to provide long-term guidance to be applied by the public service across the entire city, within which there is flexibility to adapt over time to achieve overall goals.
Strategies are designed to address specific needs, and may include partners across other levels of government, the private or not-for-profit sector. They embody the “how” and guide development of specific action plans to accomplish objectives.
Similarly, programs are designed to address specific needs, may be focused on particular areas or target needs and are typically time bound. Policy statements, therefore, identify the overall objectives, with enabling and restrictive language to guide development of programs and strategies that fit with the overall goals and intent of the city.
Over the past several months, city representatives have met with industry partners and the community to collect feedback on “what matters” and what needs to be done with regard to housing policy.