On Tuesday night this week, Orange City Council met to determine next-steps on its Local Housing Strategy.
Shelter wrote a submission to Council on its draft Strategy earlier this year, and we are pleased to note many of the next-step recommendations were seemingly lifted directly from our submission and dropped into the Council report as avenues to pursue housing justice. Greens Councillor, David Mallard, further enhanced the clarity and urgency of the recommendations in the chamber.
Council unanimously resolved to:
- Prepare a Local Affordable Housing Strategy, including a determination on the merits of establishing an Affordable Housing Contributions Scheme and establishing a Community Land Trust,
- Prepare a Short Term Rental Accommodation Policy to reduce the impact of short-term rentals on the availability of longer term rental stock,
- Prepare an Infill Development Strategy to support appropriate rezonings of urban land for medium-density development, reducing the outward growth of the city and impacts on native vegetations and agricultural land,
- Develop a strategy for housing for locally essential workers,
- Hold a Housing Summit by the end of 2022 that brings together Government agencies, community housing providers, strategic planners, community service agencies and peak body representatives, to discuss issues and proposed solutions,
- Undertake an audit of public Council land that could be used to develop new social and affordable housing, and
- Develop a Homelessness policy that identifies principles and actions for Council to contribute to ending homelessness in Orange.
We look forward to working closely with Orange City Council on advancing these actions.
