City of Kingston

Unanimously passed. 

• Queen’s / SLC led initiatives and activities
  1. Discussion surrounding city run activities in collaboration with Tourism Kingston
  2. Example from City of Ottawa: Tailgate Party
  3. Revive the Reunion Party. Would be more popular if alcohol was permitted (wrist bands identifying who is 19+)
  4. Utilizing Richardson Stadium as a controlled event location (Kingston Police would potentially support).

• Potential collaboration between Tourism Kingston and Queen’s on event(s).
  1. Events should be comprehensive and not separate.
  2. Strategies about building event awareness and messaging, including effective marketing.
  3. Street festival vibes
  4. Pop up events at various park locations
  5. Graduate and/or mature students tend to avoid Aberdeen, therefore smaller scale events that are spread out should be considered.

• Guest speaker – James Barr, Manager of Development Approvals, City of Kingston
  1. Major projects in the area include replacing joint sewers via new construction. This requires a 10-year timeline.
  2. Kingston has the lowest vacancy rate amongst big cities in Ontario. To tackle this issue, the City is looking to expedite planning approvals and make construction easier. All through the new legislative changes to the Planning Act.
  3. Earl, University, Division, Johnson area is being redeveloped to accommodate approximately 1,500 new units.
  4. The City is revamping its Official Plan over the next 2 years and is seeking public input
  5. This plan will include intergovernmental investments to support housing for colleges and universities.

• Guest speaker – Lori Velkova, Housing Program Administrator, City of Kingston
  1. Affordable units in Kingston go extremely fast and do not follow the school years which presents a major challenge to students.
  2. International students don’t always qualify for affordable housing because of their citizenship status, and lack of Permanent Residency Card.
  3. Trying to eliminate the stigma of social assistance. It’s there to help for a reason.
  4. Students may not feel like they are part of the community enough to consider social assistance.

• Guest speaker – Leah Wales, Executive Director (Housing and Ancillary Services), Queen’s University.
  1. Major barrier to increased on/off campus housing is funding.
  2. Queen’s University debt capacity needs to be preserved for academic capacity at this time.
  3. Queen’s has hired a consultant to look for other partnerships within the private sector.

• Guest speaker – Shelley Aylesworth-Spink, VP Student Success, SLC
  1. Colleges are relatively new in the housing game. SLC approach must be include a tri-campus model (Kingston, Brockville, Cornwall)
  2. International students are more open to and prefer room sharing.
  3. Concerned that international students will live in the lowest and cheapest rate of housing which is a concern due to lack of landlord accountability and potential scams.
  4. Federal government changes to the cap on International Student intake has created a challenge. Lack of certainty on new Canadian Immigration policy.
  5. Closure of the public and private partnership in Toronto has also created and added challenge.
  6. Considerations are being given to modular and fast construction housing as the technology is improving within these industries.
  7. Helping new students navigate the housing market (lease review, predeparture checklists).