The rents are high, there is a zero rental vacancy rate, and currently only about eight homes on the market for sale. The municipality is struggling because there is almost no land on which to expand. If housing solutions aren’t found, the lack of housing will mean there won’t be workers to serve the tourists who are the town’s financial backbone.
No, this isn’t a profile of Squamish: It is Banff, Alberta, a tourist town nestled in the Rocky Mountains.
Other communities like Banff that have been grappling with tight housing issues for longer than Squamish are turning to creative solutions.
Since the 1990s, the Town of Banff has had the Banff Housing Corporation, an arm’s length non-profit organization that previously only helped potential residents’ own homes but has recently been mandated by the town council to help with managing rentals. The town also developed a community housing strategy in October of 2014.
Many of the 63 actions decided on in the strategy document are just being undertaken; they include more education on rights and responsibilities for landlords and tenants, creating a housing information portal on the town’s website and investigating higher-density options including loosening height restrictions, according to Sharon Oakley, Banff’s housing sustainability coordinator.
“In terms of the development piece, it is micro units,” she said, adding that a large demographic in Banff is young workers who come in for the tourist season. “So that they have a safe place to stay and a safe place to be, but they didn’t come here to stay in their room so they don’t need massive [space], they are here to experience everything there is to experience in Banff.”
In southeast B.C., the City of Kimberley has dealt with its housing affordability issues by reducing the required footprints for some lots, according to Kimberley Councillor Darryl Oakley.
“We have various unique-shaped lots throughout town that the city owns, and I am always keen to try to find where things can fit, architecturally and size-wise and affordability-wise,” Oakley said.
Squamish housing task force chair Councillor Jason Blackman-Wulff said reducing lot sizes is something Squamish council could consider, but there are pluses and minuses. “One of the things that can happen is if you reduce the requirement… full-scale throughout the community, then you may not achieve the same aspect in terms of affordability because it will change the land values,” he said.
“If everybody knows that they can squeeze in a large number of units, then that just becomes the new norm, so you have to approach it with a really cautious approach.”
At the recommendation of the task force, council passed resolutions at its July 28 meeting to have staff investigate ways to encourage more secondary suites and the possibility of incorporating moveable mico homes as laneway housing.
Tiny homes are an option Oakley hopes will be embraced by his council and community.
“I would love to see a development of micro-homes, like an eco-village type concept as they do in the States. It is just another price range of product that is not currently offered.”
Just outside of Terrace, B.C., the idea Oakley is considering is taking shape. Canada’s first micro home village is being developed on private property.
With rents in Terrace topping $1,500 for a one-bedroom apartment due to workers arriving en masse for promised liquefied natural gas project jobs, $750 a month rent for a micro home with water and sewage included located just 10 minutes outside of town is an attractive option for many, said Ally Blake, marketing manager for Hummingbird Micro Homes.
A micro home of 200 to 300 square feet costs about $40,000, compared to a typical Terrace home at $317,000.
The micro-home community is officially launching in August and already has potential tenants, according to Blake.
The small home idea is one Squamish Tenancy Association spokesperson Amber Gould is interested in for Squamish’s housing crunch.
“For a specific demographic of Squamish residents who are willing and able to live in a smaller but uber-efficient and compact home with all of the amenities they need, I don’t see any cons,” she said. “Micro homes are a housing innovation that is gaining in popularity.”
But there are obstacles to setting up such a community in Squamish, as Gould discovered when she appeared before the housing task force July 22 – namely, rules and regulations. Blackman-Wulff said there are square footage requirements and regulations related to flood plain properties.
“I also think it is like anything brand new, we’d want to make sure that it was done properly in terms of life safety stuff, such as fire,” he said. “Another barrier would be community acceptance.”
A proposal for a smaller home community on Finch Drive in Squamish, although ultimately passed by council, was hotly contested by some neighbours who said the subdivision didn’t fit in with the character of the neighbourhood.
