City reviews short-term rentals
As rental housing becomes harder to find and more expensive, City of Powell River council will be looking at pushing forward with regulations for short-term housing.
City councillor CaroleAnn Leishman said the topic dominated many discussions at the recent Union of BC Municipalities convention.
Leishman said as city council looks to pass a bylaw amendment to allow carriage houses at its October 5 meeting, she is concerned about homeowners building the housing and then listing it on Airbnb without providing long-term rentals.
Leishman said she wants to see the city provide options so homeowners are able to list short-term rentals, but not at the expense of reducing the availability of long-term rentals.
Province restores bus passes
Area residents on disability assistance will receive a little more money from the BC government to cover transportation costs starting in January.
The province announced it will provide a $52 per month supplement for people on disability assistance over and above the support they already receive.
The program has an estimated cost of about $70 million.
Provincial social development minister Shane Simpson also announced that the province will be creating an annual bus pass for persons with disabilities. The pass will be available January 1.
Residents can use the $52 supplement to pay for the bus pass or apply it to other transportation costs, including HandyDART.
