On March 11th 2024 the Town of Lunenburg announced its successful application to the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) led by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
Under the HAF the Town of Lunenburg had agreed to pursue several initiatives to improve the supply of housing and affordability of housing in the Town as part of its Action Plan.
These six initiatives were:
1. Accelerating Affordable Housing Growth through Tax Forgiveness.
2. Town-owned Land Divestiture with Agreements for Housing.
3. Affordable Housing Grant Program.
4. Additional Accessible Unit Incentives
5. New Housing in a Heritage Context: Bringing together Densification & Conservation.
6. Advancing Sustainable Housing Growth through Comprehensive Infrastructure Planning.
These initiatives were intended to boost the supply and affordability of housing in the Town. The Town had also established a target of 135 new units over the life of the HAF agreement (2024-2028). This target represented 105 units above what the Town would expect over a similar period without the inclusion of the HAF funds.
As part of the HAF agreement the Town has to provide public accounting of progress on unit counts and on our initiatives.
Since signing the HAF Agreement the following units have been created:
|
Year |
Net New Units Permitted |
% of Total Target Remaining |
|
2024 |
15 |
89% |
|
2025 |
16 |
77% |
As of March 2025 the Town has completed the following Initiatives :
Initiative #1 Accelerating Affordable Housing Growth through Tax Forgiveness
COMPLETED
The Town has adopted an Affordable Housing Tax Relief Policy to support the creation of affordable housing by offering municipal property tax incentives. The Affordable Housing Tax Relief policy applies to private developers and housing providers undertaking new construction, conversions, or substantial renovations that create self-contained dwelling units within the Town of Lunenburg. Property tax relief under this policy only applies to the share of municipal taxes connected to affordable units being provided, the remainder of the property remains fully taxable.
Initiative #2 Town-owned Land Divestiture with Agreements for Housing
DELAYED
The disposal of public lands is a challenging subject in the Town of Lunenburg, as there are current and future competing interests for Town owned parcels for capital works, community infrastructure, and conservation. Additionally, the Town is now starting to more readily consider risks of flooding for future residential development. This constrains our overall land supply and limits the Town’s options to deliver on this initiative. On February 3, 2026, staff presented a HAF update to Council and requested direction to identify one to two Town-owned properties for consideration under Initiative 2: Town-owned Land Divestiture with Agreements for Housing. Council supported this motion and staff are working on selecting and evaluating parcels to bring back to Council in summer of 2026 for consideration under the Town's Divestiture Policy.
Initiative #3 Affordable Housing Grant Program
DELAYED
Staff have completed a draft Affordable Housing Grant program report to bring to Committee of the Whole for discussion on April 7th. The report outlines key parameters of the program, such as eligibility, level of affordability required, and when funds would be released. The expectation is that grants would be tiered to allow for variation in building costs in different parts of the Town.
Initiative #4 Additional Accessible Unit Incentives
COMPLETE
The Town has adopted an Accessible Housing Incentive Policy. This policy provides targeted financial incentives to eligible projects that prioritize accessibility. The purpose is to promote the development of accessible housing that enhances inclusivity through providing financial support to those who go beyond the mandated accessibility standards in their housing projects within the Town of Lunenburg.
Initiative #5 New Housing in a Heritage Context: Bringing together Densification & Conservation
COMPLETE
The Town has completed an update to the Old Town Lunenburg Heritage Conservation District (HCD)Plan & By-law and have created an Illustrated Old Town Lunenburg Conservation District Design Guidelines. These updates to the HCD Plan and By-law and the new design guidelines will help those renovating and building housing in the Heritage Conservation District better understand requirements. The new design guidelines will be posted on the Town of Lunenburg website by Spring 2026.
Initiative #6 Advancing Sustainable Housing Growth through Comprehensive Infrastructure Planning
COMPLETE
After completing some analysis on existing infrastructure capacity the Town adopted the Street Services Extension Policy to support housing growth. The policy allows for cost-sharing opportunities when Council has identified a clear benefit for public investment. The policy outlines processes for installing storm, sewer, and water services and other street infrastructure, such as but not limited to, curbs, gutters and sidewalks, to existing and new developments within the Town of Lunenburg and requests for cost-sharing by the Town of project components that are typically borne by the developer.