City of Powell River Council will give consideration to adopting an expansive housing implementation plan prepared by staff.
At the August 30 committee of the whole meeting, manager of planning services Daniella Fergusson said the housing implementation plan is the housing needs assessment that was completed in 2021, taken to the next stage.
“We know what the housing needs assessment said, which is we need more housing,” said Fergusson. “The housing implementation plan is: what do we do about that?”
Fergusson said the housing implementation plan asks why the city is in a housing crisis and what happened. It asks what the spectrum of housing supply looks like.
She said another component is about defining affordability and what the housing needs are. The 2021 housing needs assessment was based on 2016 census information and a lot has changed since then, so data has been updated, she added.
Fergusson said a third component is recommendations, sorted into rental housing and ownership housing.
Fergusson said there were key findings. On the supply side, the federal government got out of funding social housing and there were other factors. On the demand side, with population growth, family composition has changed, according to Fergusson. She said there are smaller households, and wages have been increasing more slowly than housing costs.
“Housing is becoming increasingly harder for most families to reach,” said Fergusson.
She said in the last 40 years, home ownership has become out of reach for many people.
Also in the last 40 years, the local housing supply hasn’t really changed, according to Fergusson. She said way more single-family homes are being built than other kinds of housing.
“There’s a mismatch of housing supply and housing is becoming way more expensive, outpacing incomes,” said Fergusson. “We are not building supply that matches what those incomes can afford locally.”
She said in terms of what affordable housing means, using 2021 census statistics, the plan’s authors looked at household incomes in the city. She said incomes were divided into very low, low, moderate, above moderate and high income categories.
“The most important thing to point out is that 60 per cent of households in Powell River would be considered very low, low or moderate incomes,” said Fergusson.
The very low category represents 20 per cent of the population, added Fergusson. Another big chunk is in moderate incomes, which are typically two-income-earning families.
“How do we supply housing for families earning less than $80,000 per year? asked Fergusson. “What types of housing do we need to be building to fill the gaps in our community? The answer is we need almost 600 units of housing for those low income, very low income and moderate groups by 2026.”
In Powell River, higher density housing is required to meet the need, said Fergusson, as well as finding ways to subsidize the housing, such as contributing city-owned lands for more rental housing.
In terms of recommendations, there are a number of things the city can do, such as amending the zoning bylaw to allow more different kinds of housing, said Fergusson. Allowing construction of fee-simple row housing would be another initiative.
Mayor Dave Formosa said all levels of government, the city included, have not contributed to the construction of affordable housing.
“We sit here and say we want affordable housing but when a house costs $200 to $220 a square foot to build, how do you build a house that’s affordable for families who don’t have two decent incomes?” asked Formosa. “Even if you build new apartments, you are going to need $1,100 or $1,200 or $1,500 a month for rent.
“How many jobs in this community are gas stations, corner stores, restaurants or tourism? They can’t afford to pay that kind of money for rent.”
Formosa said government has let people down by moving out of creating homes. He said he thinks the idea of a housing authority in the city is a good one.
“How do you get a private builder to accept a 30-, 40- or 50-year return on the housing stock?” asked Formosa. “It’s not going to happen.”
Formosa said the city should be working with senior levels of government to receive funding to build housing on city land that can be rented out at a reasonable rate.
Councillor George Doubt said the recommendation before the committee was that city council adopt the housing implementation plan. He asked if staff would be seeking more information and doing studies in creating a municipal housing authority if recommendations are followed.
Fergusson said there is a budgetary consideration because staff would need help to prepare a business plan.
Chief administrative officer Russell Brewer said it could be considered as part of financial planning and will be brought forward in the strategic planning process.
Doubt said it is high time to do this because the city owns property and it is possible for the city to contribute and get assistance from the provincial and federal governments.
“I hope the result of this is we will be looking seriously at a housing authority in the future where we can bring groups together that have money and land to provide shelter for people who deserve it,” said Doubt.
Councillor Maggie Hathaway said she has been trying to create a housing authority since 2008. She said she also thinks the federal government is going to be providing incentives for developers, so there will be opportunities.
Committee chair CaroleAnn Leishman said there is a gap and a need for 592 more units of the type of housing that is not being built right now. Even if the new council starts as soon as possible, establishing a housing authority and changing bylaws, it’s a big job and it’s going to take years to get the housing built, she added.
“The sooner staff can come back to the next council and identify things that can be done right away to start adding more units onto the market, the better,” said Leishman.
The committee gave unanimous consent to send the housing implementation plan to council to consider adoption.
