GuelphToday received the following letter in response to Guelph's Housing Workshop that took place a few weeks ago.
Housing advocates: those responsible for driving meaningful action to address the need for housing.
Together, our Associations — the Guelph & District Home Builders’ Association (GDHBA) and Guelph Wellington Development Association (GWDA) — were pleased to witness the housing workshop held by City staff two weeks ago. As the voices for the residential construction and development industries in the City of Guelph, the critical issue of housing supply and affordability has been at the forefront of our advocacy for nearly two decades. We are happy to see it is a priority and growing topic of discussion at the City of Guelph, all levels of government and community partners.
Since the workshop, we have been engaging in conversations about housing in our city. What does the future of housing in Guelph look like and what are the next steps to getting there? How can we collaborate with all stakeholders across the housing continuum and lend our expertise? How can we foster a supportive environment and best promote the advancement of building sites in Guelph?
The bottom line is collectively we haven’t been building enough. The good news is, we are aligned around the opportunities that are in front of us to get more homes built.
We are builders, developers, land owners, trade partners, suppliers, renovators and more — but at our core we are housing advocates. Our job as housing advocates is to work with all stakeholders to come up with solutions that support the growth and sustainability of our community, and that includes ensuring that homes are affordable and attainable and get built quickly and efficiently.
We believe in open, collaborative discussions to solve this housing crisis. We need to work together to achieve our collective goals.
Above all, we build homes. We want to build homes. We have the skills and the labour to do so. As partners in community investment, our industry looks forward to working with the City of Guelph and our community to get back to doing what we do best. Together.
Josh Kaufman,
Incoming President
Guelph & District Home Builders’ Association
