2023 in Brighton municipal politics has been dominated by one development proposal. We held public meetings in January to get a look at the proposal, and the matter will finally be defined this week, on December 11th. I don’t normally talk about matters that are currently being considered, and I’m not here to talk aboutContinue reading “What’s a Wetland?”
Tag Archives: zoning
Property Value
Two things came up in Northumberland in the past week about property value. One was a training session our council had about the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) and how they determine assessment for our tax rolls; the other was concerns about property value suffering from stigma associated with the increase of visible homelessness andContinue reading “Property Value”
Municipalities and Housing
In the last post we looked at how a lack of housing supply has driven prices up, and how this is a feature of a housing market that treats housing as a commodity to be traded and invested in rather than as a human right and necessity. But why are there so few housing units?Continue reading “Municipalities and Housing”
Housing Supply and Markets
In my last post we looked at the context of the housing crisis. For the next few posts we’ll look at elements of the problem — because there are many angles to it. Today we’ll look at housing supply. Economics 101 One of the most fundamental notions of economics is the relationship between supply andContinue reading “Housing Supply and Markets”
Small Town Sprawl
We’re working through the Strategic Planning process, and we just had a series of public engagement opportunities where residents could talk about their vision and hopes for Brighton’s future, their recommendations for new initiatives or improvements, and even their concerns and frustrations. Excellent exercises, and we had over 60 of our neighbours participate. Going throughContinue reading “Small Town Sprawl”
Public Consultations
This week started with a Planning meeting that included a public consultation about a proposed development near a wetland. Before, during, and after this meeting there has been significant public interest: councillors have been receiving emails, addressing comments on social media, and getting phone calls about the development, and through all of this communication we’veContinue reading “Public Consultations”
To develop, or not to develop
Too many conversations about municipal development come packed with assumptions, including the assumption that it’s a binary decision: to develop, or not to develop. But that’s not actually the question! Development can be a great thing, or it can be a bad thing; most often it’s a little of both. (I’ve written about the developmentContinue reading “To develop, or not to develop”
Affordable Housing in Brighton
It’s late, but I’m still buzzing from the QDAR All-Candidates Meeting held tonight at the Legion! A good event. Being hosted by the Quinte & District Association of Realtors, the main topic of the night was housing. As a Realtor myself, it was familiar territory; but much of the language and policies that were discussedContinue reading “Affordable Housing in Brighton”