Accepts report
qathet Regional District’s (qRD) board of directors has accepted the qRD housing needs report for Electoral areas A to D.
At the January 24 regional board meeting, directors considered adoption of the housing needs report, prepared by consultant Patricia Maloney, which she outlined to directors in December 2023. Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne voted against acceptance.
According to a staff report, the housing needs report meets legislative requirements set out under the Local Government Act. It will help qRD and the provincial government better understand and respond to housing needs in the regional district, and will be implemented through policy in official community plans and regulations in zoning bylaws, where applicable, according to the staff report.
Given authorization
Powell River Educational Services Society has been authorized to submit the 2024 annual affordable housing plan for the worker co-living housing initiative to Sunshine Coast Tourism, to access the 2023 municipal and regional district tax funds, and continue the work to deliver affordable housing for workers in qathet region.
Changes grants
The regional board has directed staff to restrict grant-in-aid funding through general grants-in-aid and local grants-in-aid. General grants-in-aid include contributions from City of Powell River and the five electoral districts, while the local grants-in-aid are made up from contributions from just the five electoral districts.
Directors also passed a motion that staff propose two options for reallocation of the social planning grant budget during draft three of the 2024 to 2028 financial plan. Up until the budget deliberations for the 2024 to 2028 financial plan, there had also been social planning and economic development grants-in-aid, but moving to the two streams would streamline the regional district’s grants-in-aid process.
Supports exclusion
The board voted to support an application to the Agriculture Land Commission to exclude a 3.2-hectare parcel of land at the corner of Gillies Bay Road and Airport Road on Texada Island from the agricultural land reserve to accommodate a proposed seniors housing project.
The board also indicated that there is a well-documented need for seniors affordable housing on Texada Island and there are no other available locations for seniors housing within walking distance of Gillies Bay village that are not in the agricultural land reserve or affected by natural hazard areas.
Building truck
At the January 24 committee of the whole meeting, the committee recommended that the regional board direct staff to engage with Powell River Community Forest and BC Wildlife Service to confirm necessary details for collaboration for fire department initial attack response during times of high wildfire hazard.
According to a staff report, in the fall of 2023, the community forest approached local officers with the wildfire service and qRD to express its interest in supporting improvements in community wildfire protection within the region. The community forest has proceeded with building an appropriate truck for use in the fire department initial attack program.
The community forest does not have staffing for wildfire response, so it is requesting that qRD consider providing trained firefighters to crew the truck.
Continuing program
The committee recommended to the board that qRD offer the provincial community wood smoke reduction program in 2024, with rebates available on a first-come, first-served basis. According to a staff report, in 2023, the program provided 21 rebates for the removal of uncertified wood-burning appliances. These were replaced by 14 cleaner wood-burning appliances, four electric inserts and five electric heat pumps.
The region has administered rebates for 142 change-outs since beginning participation in the program in 2019.
Join the Peak's email list for the top headlines right in your inbox Monday to Friday.
