City of Powell River Council has directed staff to publish a request for expressions of interest to select a community partner or partners to lead a BC Housing Community Housing Fund application for a city-owned property at 7104 Barnet Street.
At the July 30 special council meeting, councillors heard from manager of planning services Daniella Fergusson, who said the purpose of her report was to wrap up and summarize a number of motions that have happened, pertaining to city-owned properties, and as it relates to the development of housing on them. She said there has been discussion about eight city properties and a number of studies have already been completed. Based on those, and a rise and report at city council about a previous attempt to get a request for expressions of interest for the Barnet property, staff members were recommending they be directed to seek another expression of interest for the property, she added.
The rise and report from the July 11 in camera meeting indicated that in December 2022, council directed staff to publish a request for expressions of interest for the delivery of a mixed-tenant, mixed-income rental housing at 7104 Barnet Street to achieve the city’s affordable housing targets. The request was published in January 2023 and staff received five responses, the rise and report document stated. However, due to limited capacity, staff was unable to bring a report forward until the closed portion of the October 3, 2022, committee of the whole meeting.
The rise and report stated that five submissions were considered and that there was a resolution to direct staff to prepare a letter of intent to enter into a 60-year lease with Tla’amin Nation and Lift Community Services for a nominal rate, contingent on being selected as a community housing fund recipient for the 2023 intake year. It further stated that all selected partners indicated there was not enough time or staff capacity to complete the extensive community housing fund application by the deadline.
Therefore, at this time, no nonprofit partner has been selected for the 7104 Barnet Street property and council looks forward to re-engaging nonprofit housing partners on this property, the rise and report stated.
Fergusson said as a result of the rise and report, the recommendation was that staff be directed to issue another expression of interest for the Barnet Street property.
“The first reason for that is the Barnet Street property has the greatest number of pre-development studies completed,” said Fergusson. “A lot of work has been done on that property.
“The second reason is that with the BC Housing Community Fund, we know there are going to be two more rounds of applications for that fund, and staff have heard that the next opening will be in early 2025. It’s a very expensive application process and we understand it takes months to get the documentation together to apply.”
Fergusson said the community housing fund is a broad program that supports a variety of incomes living in a building together.
“That makes it unique, so that’s where the staff recommendation is coming from,” said Fergusson. “We’re not sure of the capacity and interest from nonprofit community partners. It’s worth asking them again to make sure they would be interested.”
Councillor Trina Isakson said she was wondering if it was possible, given that the site is so close to city services, that the city indicate an interest in prioritizing applications that have a ground-level community amenity, such as child care, a primary care clinic, or one of the other needs that has been identified as needing space in the community. Ferguson said council could amend the motion to make it specific.
Councillor Cindy Elliott moved a motion to publish a request for expressions of interest. Councillor George Doubt said it was a great idea.
“We can say here, publicly, that we’d be interested in housing ground-floor amenities,” added Doubt. “There’s a great opportunity to combine services with residences as part of that mixed use.”
Isakson moved an amendment to add a special interest in a ground-level community amenity that is not housing. The amendment carried unanimously.
Council then carried the main motion, which was that staff be directed to publish a request for expressions of interest to select community partner(s) to lead a BC Housing Community Housing Fund application for the 7104 Barnet Street property, with a special interest in a ground-level community amenity that is not housing.
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