What are the biggest things holding up more housing being built here?

BY JASON GOW | DIRECTOR OF PLANNING, CITY OF POWELL RIVER

This is a complex question with an equally complex answer. Please consider that depending on the type of housing, answers would vary.

If the question is specific to affordable rental housing (which, based on findings of the Housing Needs Assessment, is the type of housing the community needs the most) the answer would be that there are limited financial resources coming from upper levels of government available to support the construction of this housing type.

It is true that the current provincial government has made sizeable investments in affordable rental housing over the past few years. Unfortunately, the housing crunch being felt today is the result of decades where there was limited investment in more affordable types of housing. As outlined in the Housing Implementation Plan, policies from the 1970s and 80s to encourage the development of single-family homes slowed the construction of market rental units. It is these market rental units that would be today’s more affordable units.

In terms of market rental or owner-occupied multi-family residential developments, these are typically larger projects that require greater capital investment at the outset. When successful, these developments typically provide an immediate influx of housing units at rates much greater than single-family residential development.

From the perspective of providing more units and further diversifying housing type in the community, City staff favour multi-family residential development. The challenge is that only a small percentage of the local development community has undertaken this scale to project. Most seem satisfied to continue building single-family residential homes.

Non-profit and affordable housing built since 2018

Winter Shelter (20-bed shelter): still in place, but located next to the CRC

Rapid Response Modular (40-unit modular housing complex is opening near Kiwanis Manor): 44 units completed and fully tenanted

Sunset Homes Rental 55+ (34 units): 34 units under construction with scheduled completion late 2022

Inclusion Homes Rental (40 units): 42 units completed and fully tenanted

Life Cycle Seniors and Families (Cranberry 24 units): 24 units under construction with scheduled completion early 2023

Combined with minimal interest from out-of-town developers who are often more comfortable with the capital investment required to undertake projects of this scale, this impacts the number of housing units being built in the community.

Lastly, the continued popularity (and relative affordability when compared to other communities) of single-family residential dwellings has meant the local development community has always had a buyer for their product.

While perhaps a good business model, the impact to the community is fewer (and typically more expensive) housing units being created annually than compared to multi-family residential development.