The Municipality of Clarington is expecting to soon receive its reward for successfully reaching its province-set housing target for 2023.
Clarington Council had earlier announced that the municipality had met its 2023 target for new housing starts with 953 units, according to a report from staff (see earlier story below).
“We submitted the information to the province and anticipate their response in the coming weeks,” said a municipal spokesperson in response to a query from Durham Post.
Clarington is eligible to receive funding from Ontario’s Building Faster Fund (BFF), a new three-year, $1.2 billion program that will provide up to $400 million per year to municipalities that meet or exceed their annual housing targets.
“As outlined in the staff report, based on the fund calculations by the municipality, Clarington would be eligible to receive up to $4 million, with the ability to receive additional funding should the target be exceeded,” the spokesperson said.
In March 2023, Clarington had signed a pledge to support the creation of 13,000 residential units by 2031, as part of the province’s commitment of 1.5 million new units across Ontario during that period.
Council has directed the funding to the Parks and Infrastructure Fund to support implementation of the recommendations of the Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan, which will be presented to council in 2024.