Tiny won’t commit on ‘complex’ complex involving Penetanguishene
By: Derek Howard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Source: MidlandToday.ca, May 21, 2025
The affordable housing proposal located between Penetanguishene and Tiny Township has added another chapter with Habitat for Humanity offering its pitch to Tiny council.
A few weeks earlier, North Simcoe chapter chair Cate Root provided Penetanguishene council with a request to help with providing utilities and access for a future five-unit, one-bedroom complex with septic bed and parking lot – located in Tiny Township. At the time, the town opted to wait until a pre-consultation could be made between Habitat for Humanity and Tiny Township.
Root appeared at the recent Tiny regular meeting of council with the proposition for the 360-square-foot piece of property near Lafontaine Road and Robert Street West.
“In the 2021 Census, the annual median income for residents of north Simcoe was $38,500,” said Root. “If you take away 15 per cent for income tax, that leaves $33,000 a year; and the standard is that you only pay one-third of your annual income (which) should go towards housing. That leaves $11,000 for housing.
“How do you find a place to rent for less than $1,000 a month? How can you afford that? And that’s what our residents here in North Simcoe are dealing with,” Root noted.
The result of the pre-consultation with the township and the Simcoe County planning departments were requirements for an official plan amendment, a zoning bylaw amendment, and consent to sever.
To avoid severance and an official plan amendment at the on-set, Root suggested that if the donated property were transferred to Tiny Township, then potentially a municipal zoning order could be issued as a means to streamline the development process.
“It’s complex; it’s a huge ask, we know,” admitted Root. “But it will provide housing for 5-to-10 people living in your municipality, and it will be a model for how we can quickly add affordable housing to North Simcoe. We need someone to stand up first and show that this model can work.”
Root also acknowledged that the county remained cautious due to the property being outside the Penetanguishene settlement boundary. Mayor Dave Evans echoed similar caution in his response to Root, noting that consideration for the proposal could become “a thin edge of the wedge” regarding official plan amendment requests.
“It’s certainly a very noble cause and something we would like to help with, but it’s not as easy as just flipping a switch and going forward,” said Evans.
Evans added that since Midland and Penetanguishene were the primary settlement areas for the region, those towns “should be providing if there’s an opportunity – they’re the ones you should be starting with and finding land from… because they have instructions.”
The presentation from Root was received for information, with the matter to reappear at an upcoming council meeting for potential discussion with additional input from municipal staff.
The request for assistance from Habitat for Humanity Ontario Gateway North, including slideshow presentation, can be viewed on the agenda page on the Township of Tiny website.
Archives of council meetings are available to view on the township’s YouTube channel.