City of Powell River councillors have adopted an implementation plan to address significant needs identified in the 2021 regional housing needs report.
At the September 22 city council meeting, councillors unanimously endorsed the plan, which, according to a staff report, includes background information on the housing crisis, various government roles in housing, and what is possible in terms of different levels of government financial support for housing, different kinds of ownership and tenure, and various levels of density.
“As everyone knows, we had a housing needs assessment done over the past year, but that needs assessment didn’t identify the road map of how to address the needs,” said councillor Maggie Hathaway. “This document creates a road map as to how we move forward.
“The largest need for homes is for very low income, low income and moderate income households. The nonprofit housing providers are delivering an unprecedented number of affordable housing units in Powell River, with 86 units delivered from 2019 to 2021 and another 58 units under construction.”
Hathaway said staff conducted a workshop and survey of local builders and developers to gauge interest in multifamily residential development and purpose-built rental development.
“There’s little interest from the development community to build new types of housing, one reason being the capital and finance requirements of multifamily and purpose-built rental construction are too high,” she added. “It falls to the city and local government to provide the housing needs. We would provide some incentives for developers to hopefully move into that kind of building, but it is our responsibility to make sure we are creating that kind of housing.”
Hathaway brought up the topic of a housing authority. She said staff need more information about a municipal housing authority. A business plan developed for council’s consideration is recommended because it will help clarify the role of the housing authority and level of local government funding required to sustain it every year, she added.
Councillor CaroleAnn Leishman said she is grateful for the plan.
“It seems like there are a lot of steps that happen, but we went through all of the necessary steps,” said Leishman. “We have the data now and the plan and it’s absolutely necessary for providing all of the options we can consider as a local government, and all of the different funding streams that could be utilized to build some housing.”
Councillor Cindy Elliott said she liked some of the suggestions in the report. She said some that are asking for incentives for the private sector to step up are unlikely to be effective unless a cost-effective way can be found.
“There is a need for the governments to step up and fund housing from lower- to mid-income folks,” added Elliott. “I fall short of saying it’s the city’s responsibility but we want to get up and provide lands and create a housing authority so we can facilitate housing and make decisions locally about how that looks and where we put it. We want the funding to come from other levels of government.”
Next council will have tools, says mayor
Mayor Dave Formosa said that 14 years ago, efforts were made to establish a housing authority and it didn’t gain traction. He said he more recently had discussions with the director of planning services to look at stepping up and considering creating a housing authority.
“We have lots of land and that’s what you need,” said Formosa. “I agree with my councillors that we can be a part of it, but the problem, in my view, is the feds, and probably the province, stopped building social housing in the ’70s and ’80s, and that has led to this crisis. It has fallen on local governments because it hits us square on the chin.
“We need to do something about it and I think the next council will have the tools, and the recommendations are there. We can tap the feds and tap the province, and maybe some private entrepreneurs.”
