Free housing unit design plans rolled out in Cape Breton Regional Municipality

Free housing unit proposals were unveiled in Cape Breton on Monday.

It was an open house of sorts on Monday on a new form of housing being proposed for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM).

Fifteen designs, ranging from single units to a six unit multi-plex are now being offered to residents through the federal Housing Accelerator Fund.

The designs were on display on Monday outside City Hall in Sydney.

Darlene Leblanc, a resident from Gabarus, N.S., said she liked what she saw for the most part, but wondered whether the proposed housing units would work as well for rural living as they might in urban areas.

“Because they want to be able to incorporate the sewage and water, whereas where I’m in a rural area I wanted to get more information on rural,” Leblanc said. “Because I would have to have a well and septic put in.”

The CBRM said the plans are free and were designed to meet local building codes.

A spokesperson for CBRM, Jenna MacQueen, added they have also been fast-tracked in hopes people might be able to start building sooner in a city that has been told it needs at least 1,000 new housing units by next year.

“We’re hopeful that this will actually help address some of the housing issues people have experienced in the CBRM,” MacQueen said. “We’re hearing of a lot of people who want maybe an accessory dwelling unit in their backyard, but they don’t know how much a plan could cost or even where to begin and we’re helping to remove that barrier for people.”

Northside-area Coun. Gordon MacDonald was also hopeful these types of units might help when it comes to the municipality’s housing shortage, even though he had questions at first about how the proposed new units might fit into existing streets and subdivisions.

“Well, I guess initially when any kind of design comes forward you’re kind of concerned about how it’s going to fit into the neighbourhoods, but these designs are laid out and they look great,” MacDonald said after viewing the designs. “Most neighbourhoods, they would fit right in.”

Leblanc said while she needs more information first, there is another option that might be worth considering for herself.

“Maybe I want to sell a chunk of my land and build a couple of those on it, have a road going and see if it would be worth my while,” she said.

The CBRM says more public engagement sessions - as part of its Housing Strategy - are coming up Wednesday and Thursday in Sydney, North Sydney and Glace Bay.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page