Housing Strategy

There has been a lot of change since the City of Leduc adopted its Attainable Housing Strategy in 2008. Significant growth has occurred over the last decade and as a result, the community faces new housing challenges that must be properly addressed. The City is now developing a Housing Strategy to achieve the following objectives:

1. Identify current and future housing needs of the community.
2. Identify ways to address these needs through action.
3. Create a framework to help prioritize and guide partnership and investment opportunities to produce innovative housing solutions.

The Housing Strategy will focus on ways to support the provision of housing options by exploring different housing forms and tenures based on identified needs. Examples of housing forms may include single detached housing, semi-detached housing, multi-unit housing, or apartment buildings, amongst others, whereas tenure refers to whether a residence is owned or rented, with or without financial assistance. Together, different housing forms combined with different tenures can create a variety of housing options that can be found, planned, or designed within a community.  

The housing spectrum / continuum is a concept used to describe the range of housing options available to help individuals across different demographic groups access attainable, adequate, and safe housing. It is a common standard used to understand available housing options in a given community and describes a range of housing tenures including emergency shelters, transitional and supportive housing, and non-market and market rental and ownership that can be implemented within various housing forms. Healthy communities have a diversity of housing options along the spectrum to accommodate the unique housing needs of community members.

Figure 1.1 Housing Spectrum
The Housing Strategy will be based on an analysis of current City policies, review of other municipalities’ strategies for managing housing in their communities, examination of housing statistics and datasets, and stakeholder engagement – including Leduc households and members of the local development community.

What has changed since the adoption of the Attainable Housing Strategy in 2008?

The City of Leduc’s population has grown by more than 15,000 people since 2008. Nearly 30 percent of all dwellings within the City of Leduc (close to 4,000 units) have been constructed since 2011. While single detached dwellings are still the most common housing form in Leduc, we are starting to see more duplexes, townhouses, and apartments being developed as well.

Availability, appropriateness, and affordability of dwellings has become a major concern in recent years. We need more dwelling units, a greater variety of housing forms, unit types, and number of bedrooms, and dwellings that are affordable for Leduc households.

Much of Leduc’s recent development has occurred in previously undeveloped (greenfield areas) or suburban areas. However, changes to restrictions on where development can occur near the Edmonton International Airport has opened parts of Leduc’s downtown and core neighbourhoods for development and redevelopment. Additionally, the City of Leduc has committed to supporting residential development through updating and expediting land development approval processes, making regulatory changes to allow suites in existing neighbourhoods and new construction, collaborating with local non-profit organizations and industry partners, and seeking funding opportunities available to local governments.

Winter 2023 / 2024: Complete background research and data collection.

Winter 2024: Release a public survey to capture community member’s experiences with housing in Leduc. The survey will be advertised using postcards mailed to Leduc households to invite residents to participate.

Spring 2024: Develop a ‘What We Heard’ Report to present engagement findings and complete an analysis of housing and demographic data to produce a Housing Needs Assessment Report. 

Summer 2024: Use findings from the Housing Needs Assessment Report and public engagement to develop a Housing Strategy that establishes strategies, priorities, and actions to address Leduc’s housing needs.

August 2024: Finalize the Housing Strategy and present to City Council.

• Housing Glossary
• 2008 Attainable Housing Strategy