Housing Initiatives

The City has initiated an Official Plan Update to strengthen policies as it relates to promoting the integration of missing middle housing, supporting appropriate intensification, and enabling a framework to promote higher densities in built-up areas.  

The City of Belleville will be putting a Call to Action to local building designers to submit their designs to be included in the City’s catalogue of pre-reviewed detached accessory dwelling unit building plans. The goal is to streamline the process by connecting landowners with building designers, and incentivizing plans to be available to the public at a reduced cost. The pre-reviewed plans will offer faster, easier and more predictability through the permitting process, as the plans will be reviewed for Ontario Building Code compliance.  

In addition to the Call to Action for local designs, the federal government’s Housing Design Catalogue provides readily available standardized building plans for free use, making homebuilding easier.

Note: Readily available building plans do not imply Zoning By-law compliance. A plot plan will be required as part of a building permit submission.  

Through the renewed Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF), municipalities with a population of 30,000 or greater must complete a Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) to be eligible for funding under federal infrastructure programs. Additionally, all successful Housing Accelerator Fund municipalities must complete an HNA.

On May 12, 2025, the City’s Community Improvement Plan was updated with two enhanced rebates for homeowners interested in creating accessory dwelling units. 

On March 10, 2025, Council approved four units as-of-right through the City’s Residential Intensification Project. The project included various forms of intensification within the City including: