With the potential for billions of dollars in funding from Ottawa in the next decade, Moose Jaw City Hall is trying to position themselves for future housing initiatives.

Moose Jaw has been in the housing sector for years with everything from grants for specialized housing, tax breaks for infill construction and even simple land sales to developers. But not all cities are in the game and the few that are, need to stand out from the rest.

Planning Consultant Allan Wallace reviewed our current situation and says there are two areas of concern right now.

"There's a need for more seniors housing with support, not just seniors housing, not market housing but (housing) with support," explained Wallace. "There's last a limited range of housing types for young professionals and singles. As Moose Jaw grows, that segment is going to become more apparent."

Wallace isn't suggesting that the city start building these types of housing, but consider grants or tax breaks for developers who are willing to. He says Moose Jaw is in a solid position to start compared to many other communities in the province.

"What this Housing Business Plan does is give the administration a toolkit and they can pull out what they need to address housing issues from a municipal point of view. Any municipality that does have a housing business plan, have a reserve and have contributions to make, are going to have a leg up on other municipalities that don't have that."

Wallace says a city can influence the housing market by offering tax incentives to developers who are willing to build the less traditional type housing, such as shelters or low-income units and through that influence, the city becomes more desirable.