Here we are approaching the end of summer and it appears anybody with a building plan and a bulldozer is getting the green light to launch a housing development in Squamish. And, no doubt, if we dig deep enough into sacred Business 101 texts, somewhere it is written that “developers giveth and developers taketh away.”
The prices for townhouses and duplexes in a planned development just north of Garibaldi Village will start in the high $600,000s and the high $700,000s, respectively. If you’re in a rush to move in, a “unique three level townhome” in a nine-year-old complex on Government Road, will set you back $759,000.
And according to the advertising blurb for a soon-to-be constructed collection of homes, located across from the Brennan Park Recreation Centre, “the Squamish life is calling.” Buyers can expect “a whistling wind among the evergreens, the pitter-patter of raindrops on rooftops, and late-night laughs around the campfire.” But all that bonhomie and the delightful sound effects won’t come cheap. Anybody who wants a piece of the action will have to pony up the $820,000 starting price for one of those residences.
After the sales agent announced the project is slated “to fill a gap” in the local housing market, Squamish resident Richard Tripp voiced his concern on The Chief’s Facebook page.
Tripp said, “A few more years of this and people won’t have to worry about commuting from Squamish to their jobs. Squamish will need to worry about persuading people to commute to perform service jobs for those who can afford to own there.” On the same Facebook comment stream Coun. Peter Kent noted the proponents made a substantial contribution to the district’s Affordable Housing Reserve Fund. But Tripp wondered if it would be correct to assume developers will just tack the cost of those contributions on to the price of new homes, thereby further accelerating runaway housing costs. In response, Kent said “I agree the possibility is quite real.”
In early August the reserve fund stood at $258,733 with a further $448,383 set to be added later this year. When we take into consideration the $250 million in projects for which the district issued building permits over the last three years, the affordable housing cash pool looks a tad shallow.
According to district staff, revenue for the fund is only collected when development land is rezoned. In other words, any project in the Business Park, an area which is already zoned commercial/industrial, or a development on existing commercial lands, such as the downtown Cornerstone building, will not trigger a contribution.
In a town where housing costs are out of reach for many local buyers, is it time for the district to substantially increase the Affordable Housing Reserve Fund by casting the net wider?
