A clearer picture is emerging of how development affected by water capacity constraints will resume in parts of Waterloo Region. Cambridge city councillors have given the green light to a new Water Allocation Policy. The policy prioritizes development projects based on community benefit and long-term planning objectives once the region releases newly approved water flow for the northwestern part of the city later this year. “Moving us in a direction that is more transparent, more effective and ultimately will help us adjust to a very challenging situation regarding our region’s and our city’s water supply,” said Cambridge Coun. Scott Hamilton at a council meeting Tuesday. The city will allow staff to decide which projects move forward instead of consulting council on every application — a streamlining step developers lobbied for to avoid political delays. “As a result of the decision, obviously we’re working through a number of projects for both a highrise project and a large master-plan greenfield subdivision. So this certainty, both in the Cambridge area and in Kitchener overall, definitely helps,” said Joseph Puopolo, co-CEO of Polocorp. Puopolo, who has plans for a greenfield project in Cambridge and a highrise in Kitchener, said the decision provides the certainty the development industry has been waiting for. “We’re starting to see projects starting to move forward. But as you can imagine, it takes a while for projects to redeploy. There’s usually a huge amount of lead time that leads up into the spring construction season. So getting that wheel turning again takes a little bit of time and effort,” Puopolo said. According to Puopolo, since water capacity constraints halted new development in areas covered by the Mannheim Service Area, many local tradespeople have had to leave Waterloo Region to find work. “So, they’re still living in Waterloo Region, but we hear some trades are going as far as Windsor or up to Sudbury in order to find work,” Puopolo said. “So obviously, what we’re hopeful for now that things are beginning to move forward is that construction can come back. But like anything, it starts with earthworks, then foundations, and then other stuff, and it takes time for it to filter through.” The City of Kitchener has also announced the first few projects that will proceed when its additional water allocation arrives: a 60-unit partnership with Habitat for Humanity on Holborn Court, a 34-unit transitional housing project for newcomers on Wellington Street North, and a combined fire station and rental unit development downtown. Together, these projects are expected to provide housing for more than 7,100 people alongside 40,000 square feet of employment and commercial space. “We want to make sure that priority-one projects could move forward, and those are ones that involve affordable and supportive housing, or those that are delivered in partnership with another order of government,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “As we look for the balance of the year, there is water capacity that is available for other projects in category three, for example. Staff will be working through applications as they receive them.” Puopolo emphasized the need to keep all streams of housing moving forward alongside specialized non-profit builds. “Build Now in general is doing some good work in terms of building affordable housing in the community. But I think we need to bring back all types of housing on stream,” Puopolo said. “When you’re not getting all types of housing on stream, it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on other things... Right now there’s a bit of inventory, but the second that begins to get absorbed and you don’t have new housing on stream to fill that in, costs will go up. So I think it’s mission-critical to continue the flow of housing and development because it takes so much time.” Provided the region delivers on infrastructure projects intended to permanently increase water capacity, Vrbanovic believes the city will be well-positioned to approve incoming development proposals by the first quarter of next year. In the meantime, Vrbanovic is awaiting the findings of an internal report investigating how the capacity bottleneck occurred in the first place. “It’s probably best to let that work be completed and see what the recommendations are, because part of me would argue that this could have been handled in a different way,” Vrbanovic said.
