A Powell River resident has brought forward a proposal to develop sustainable, affordable housing, consisting of 200 tiny homes, aimed at addressing the critical shortage of affordable housing, and to combat homelessness.
At the city’s committee of the whole meeting on June 17, Michael Gelber spoke to councillors about what he termed as the qathet Homes project proposal. He said once upon a time, there were no homeless people in Powell River, so his question is: What happened and is there anything he can do about it?
Gelber said all of a sudden, the woods behind his house have become occupied by homeless campers. He said he came up with the tiny homes proposal after speaking with the occupants in the woods.
“I was inspired in 2024 by a McLean’s article about the 12 Neighbours Project in Fredericton, where 96 tiny homes have started making a dent in the homeless problem and are changing people’s lives,” said Gelber. “The other was an article about the City of Vienna, where the city has been building and maintaining social housing for nearly 100 years. This keeps rents competitively low, allowing students, and the poor, good and affordable housing.”
Gelber said for more than 40 years, through the gradual abandonment of social housing, and compounded with the inflation of house prices and rents, housing has become utterly unaffordable for low-income people, and thus, they live in tents in the woods. He added that the problem is exacerbated by the presence of drugs, growth of mental health issues, and despair and hopelessness, all of which are related.
“None of my ideas for the problem in Powell River are original,” said Gelber. The 12 Neighbours Project has inspired me with their model and my proposal, which is before council, is for 200 tiny homes. The homes are 250 square feet and fully equipped with everything except laundry, which will be housed separately. The residents pay 30 per cent of their income and that covers everything, including electricity and basic internet.
“The homes are beautiful. I have official plans of the tiny homes that I have forwarded to city planning. The city has already designated eight city-owned properties for affordable housing. Alternatively, there is the possibility of privately owned properties being donated for this project.”
Gelber estimated the cost of the project to be $27 million. He said rents would generate close to $1 million per year, which would pay for operations and generate income for the city. He said the first steps are to secure the land, to engage a nonprofit or charitable organization that can receive private and government funds, as well as provide expertise to build and manage the project. Also required would be an individual who could provide leadership, added Gelber.
Councillor Rob Southcott said it seemed clear to him that this is not something the city would do, so it is not the same as Vienna’s housing project. He said there are potential spin-off benefits for the community as there were in the Fredericton project.
“We also are aware of Duncan, Port Alberni and Victoria, which have done projects like this on a smaller scale than the Fredericton case,” said Southcott. “I was fascinated by what Mr. Gelber put together that was provided to us a couple of weeks ago.”
Southcott said he does not know how to move forward, because from an initial standpoint, the city does not have a central role.
“There are various agencies in this community that could participate,” said Southcott. “The key to the approach is a phased approach. I’m hoping it can go somewhere because there is clearly a need in our community.”
Councillor Jim Palm said the project would need about five acres, and that the city is land rich.
“This is an excellent opportunity for the city to get involved,” added Palm.
Councillor and committee chair George Doubt made a motion that the committee direct staff to prepare a report on options for putting the qathet Homes project proposal into action.
“It’s a great idea,” said Doubt. “Mayor [Ron] Woznow has talked about the potential for tiny homes. There are examples all over the place. We know it is possible to do. What it takes is an intention to do it and intention to try to bring a partnership together.
“You have to have a partnership, you have to have land, and you have to get funds from the provincial and federal governments. We can do that.”
Woznow said shortly after the election in 2022, he brought forward a motion to have staff look at tiny homes in Powell River. He said he lived in Fredericton for five years and has family still there.
“I was well aware of their tiny homes project and the commitment of the city working with different agencies. I am fully supportive. Unfortunately, my motion was defeated. I’m hoping that [Doubt’s] motion will pass.”
The motion to have staff prepare a report on options for putting the qathet Homes project proposal into action carried unanimously.
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