Northern Communities Fronted Millions For New Lots
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 15:55
The provincial government is lending a combined $3 million to the communities of La Ronge and La Loche to provide serviced lots to meet higher demands for housing.
La Loche will receive $2 million and La Ronge will receive $1 million to build subdivisions with serviced lots.
Under the Northern Residential Subdivision Program, communities repay the program when the lots are sold.
Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Hutchinson says the government is responding to the rapidly growing economy in northern Saskatchewan — largely through resource exploration and development — which is causing housing demands to rise.
La Loche Mayor Georgina Jolibois says the money from this program is greatly needed by northern communities to help keep pace with their growth.
According to the government, the Northern Revenue Sharing Trust Account Management Board recommended the subdivision program to the province because northern communities face high land development costs, mainly due to terrain that is difficult to work on and a lack of contractor availability.
The province says, in some cases, communities also struggle with the lack of a sufficient tax base or other sources of revenue to make subdivision development feasible.
Communities apply to the program through a process that evaluates the housing needs of the community, estimates costs of lot development and considers current funding available through the NRSD.