qathet Regional District (qRD) board of directors will consider a series of recommendations to help address housing needs in electoral areas.
At the July 14 committee of the whole meeting, directors considered a four-part recommendation looking at housing needs and next steps associated with that.
The first recommendation was that the committee recommend the board continue to use the 2021 qathet regional housing needs report to guide and inform future housing policies, strategies and actions to help meet the projected housing gap in electoral areas A, B, C and D. The committee passed the recommendation.
The second recommendation was that the committee recommend the board promote an update of the qRD housing needs report to 2023 budget deliberations. City director George Doubt proposed an amendment that the board consider an update of the housing needs report to 2023 budget deliberations rather than promote.
“It’s reasonable to consider at a future board meeting the idea of extending the housing report,” said Doubt. “We need to have cost projections on how much the update of the housing report would be. I don’t think using the term ‘promote’ is an appropriate thing for the board to do.
“I support the idea of discussing whether or not we have the housing needs report in 2023.”
Electoral Area E director Andrew Fall asked if the intention is to align the housing needs report with the federal census, because legislatively, the housing needs report does not need to be updated until 2026.
Manager of planning services Laura Roddan explained the rationale for considering an update of the report in 2023. She said in the preliminary analysis of the 2021 census data, growth in regional district electoral areas is substantially higher than what was projected in the recently completed housing needs report.
“That shows we might not be on track with projections,” said Roddan. “Also, we’re out of sync with the census schedule.”
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said his understanding from the provincial government is that the first housing needs assessment needed to be completed by April 2022, and then every five years thereafter.
“Hearing from our staff that we have higher growth than expected is where I am a little confused because last month, we voted to end consideration of a regional growth strategy, and one of the reasons was because we don’t have high growth,” added Gisborne. “However, there is a critical lack of obtainable housing in our community, and therefore there is significant need and pressure for more housing. Last month we were sharing that there isn’t growth, and this month we’re sharing that there is growth.
“These studies cost money, so raising property taxes to study and report on the increasing cost of housing seems counterintuitive.”
Doubt said he is curious if staff has any idea of the cost of a new study.
Roddan said an approximation would be $40,000 to hire a consultant. She said the recommendation in the report is to update just the electoral area housing needs. The existing report also took into consideration City of Powell River and Tla’amin Nation.
The committee voted for the amended motion with Gisborne in opposition.
Lund housing
The third recommendation was that the committee recommend the board meet with Life Cycle Housing to determine its interest in championing an application to BC Housing for funds to develop affordable housing units in Lund.
Doubt said it was a good idea to meet to see if there is interest. He said, however, there might be other organizations interested.
“Maybe we should widen the net,” said Doubt.
The committee was presented with an amended motion. Instead of just Life Cycle Housing, the recommendation was changed to read nonprofit societies and Tla’amin Nation.
Electoral Area A director Patrick Brabazon said he supported the motion mentioning Life Cycle Housing.
“They have a proven track record in our community, they have demonstrated they know what they are doing, and they do it well,” said Brabazon. “If we focus on one proven agency that meets the criteria, we have a better chance of success, and staff will not be wasting their time.”
The amended motion passed, with Brabazon opposed.
The fourth recommendation was that the committee recommend the board send a letter to BC Housing advocating for greater flexibility in the forms of affordable housing that qualify for financial support, and advocating for a housing co-op project in the regional district.
