Have you heard about real estate in Yarmouth?  It is hopping during the Covid- 19 pandemic which means we must be doing something right. Prices have gone up too.  All great for those who can afford to buy their own homes but what about the people who can’t and must live in a rented apartment. What about the seniors who need to downsize from their costly big older homes and move into an easier to maintain apartment, or young family’s just starting out, Single mom’s, single dad’s?? Where are they going to go.  There is no doubt that there is a huge shortage of apartments in Yarmouth County.  As the Chair of the Municipal Doctor Recruitment and Retention Committee, I am well aware of the difficulties our Community Navigator has experienced in trying to find suitable accommodations for new doctors and residents.

So what can we do about it? First, we need to advocate to the Provincial Government on behalf of our senior population to improve the availability of rentals. As one example, maybe it is time for an addition the the Green Cove Manor in Port Maitland. Being on a waiting list for 2 years is unacceptable and people who have lived in the village all of their lives should be able to stay in their community. The same goes for other areas in the county.   Municipal Affairs and Housing needs to speed up the process of approving mixed housing units. Something to consider would be to encourage developers to build rental housing units by providing land owned by the Municipality.  Housing is a provincial responsibility but we need to open a dialogue to meet the needs of our residents. We can’t wait any longer!

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