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vrv v v ziic- v 3vv ehsuj7sto it ja j- 1- t i t v more york region families u already in short supply by usa queen staffwr1ter he answering machine message for the bethany coop in keswick offers cold comfort to callers looking for a decent ahdaffordable place to live im sorry but the coop currently has a lengthy waiting list and has no vacancies says coordinator dayleyardley adding new applications will be accepted in january its a story repeated across york region where waiting lists for subsidized housing arec overflowing and affordable rental accommodation is at a premium theres nothing new about that low- cost housing in york one of canadas wealth iest real estate markets has always been in short supply but in the 11 months since the province downloaded funding responsibility fof- social housing everything from coops to nonprofit private projects to regional governments the situation has become worse r accoiding to martin silver general man- ager of the region of york housing corporation the waiting list the corporation shares with the yoik region housing authority has jumped 50 per cent this year last december 1200 residents weie looking for subsidized housing today 1800 seniors and families are on the list but that registry doesnt tell the whole story- there has never been a centralized wait- ing list in york where 54 housing providers operate about 7000 units silver estimates there are about 4000 people on individual waiting lists around the region as a result of provjnciardownloadingin which queens park assumed half of home- owners education costs- in return for trie region paying for social services and prpvin- cial highways york taxpayers will spend about 735 million on social housing this year- j but most of the money wont be spent on housing stock within the region while 33 million will be spent in york the region is forced to contribute 405 mil- lion ttrtorontos social housing under the tories pooling strategy in fact because pooling is based on each regions property values and york has a healthy assessment base we are responsible for more than half of the 79 million in pooled funds y v 4sa staff ph0t0r0b alary martin silver4he general manager of the york region housing corporation believes the provincial governments decision to download social housing costs tomunicipalities will compound yorks shortage of lowcost accommodation durham regions share is only 3 million halton contributes about 165 million and peel kicks in 19 million i can never figure out why their othei regions piece is so i much less than our- selves silver said it always astqunds me me is also concerned that while the region is dhtrie hook for funding social housingit doesnt administer social housing its pay for no say said silver he said the province wont hand over the administration until 2000 after it has fin- ished- reforming social housing to reduce costs but what upsets silver most is thedeci- sion to download housing to property tax- payers in the first place ontario is the only jurisdiction in north america possibly the world that has made that decision i silver is concerned about the regions abilityto subsidize housing i think most of us housing officials will say it wasnt the right thihgto do he said adding the housing shortage is compound ed because provincial incentives have done little to entice the private sector into building more rental units f well be competing againstpolice roads health care and social assistance for funding in the regions budget- j york mackenziempp frank klees could not be reached for comment but in the past he has said that in an ideal world the province should pay for social housing which is an income redistribution program r but he argues the province cant afford thepfogram after assuming half of home owners education costs however housing officials are convinced the province has made a disastrous move l just think its going to be a horrendous nightmare yardley said worst case scenario we could be losing a lot of subsidized units we wont be able to provide affordable housing in the way its needed v e kerry hobbsis the housing administrator parkview village a nonprofit develop- mentor seniors in stduffville waiting lists are already years and years long there are hundreds of people waiting c for spaces she said 4we have people frequently calling urgendy asking for housing for their mother or grandmother and we have totell them its years hobbs fears thesituation is getting worse v vaughan councillor joyce frustaglio 1 chairperson of the regions social services committee said there are many unanswered questions about how social housing willl operate under the regibns wing for usits going to bea major undertak- ing we dont have the money but obviously weu have to find a solution she said its not something weie embracing with open arms but there are worse things we have to embrace than social housing just because we dont have that many units ia- york region frustaglio argued- the pressure for social housing will- mount as yorks population increases by 435000 peo- pie to 11 million in 2021 c it will be just a challenge how to deal with the needs as the regiongrows by leaps and bounds robin campbell executive director of the ontario nonprofit housing association pointed out that the majority of costs associ ated with operating social housing such as mortgages are fixed while regions must meet- those pay ments campbell fears they will be forced to cutcorners on discretionary spending such as maintenance there is a grave concern if there are cut- backs well see an incredible deterioration of properties she said campbell believes society has to make affordable housing a higher priority when you look at whats happening with homelessness particularly in the city of toronto and the gta were seeing every day the consequences of the lack of affordable housing were seeing increased homeless ness and people who are riot able to stabilize their personal situation she said 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