As much as district officials have assigned the Squamish affordable housing problem to the front burner, they will be challenged to find answers without a concerted effort from all the stakeholders involved.
It looks like more people will need to put the dream of owning a detached home, or condo, on hold. In many cases, renting may be the most practical option for the foreseeable future. But that’s easier said than done.
Maureen Mackell, executive director of Squamish Helping Hands Society, said rental units are hard to find and prices for available spaces are so high even people with jobs are sleeping in the homeless shelter.
The soaring cost and scarcity of accommodations reaches well beyond Squamish. A 2014 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development revealed almost 40 per cent of Canada’s population lives in a city where housing prices are unaffordable. The report notes that “multi-unit housing construction has increasingly favoured condominiums over purpose-built rental buildings over the past decade. Although a significant share of condominiums in major cities is rented out, they typically have higher rents and represent a less stable housing supply for tenants.”
And according to Leslie Young of Global News, after the federal government scaled back its program to subsidize the construction of rental housing, new developments in that sector largely dried up. David Olive, who writes a business column for the Toronto Star, says instead of the scattergun approach we’ve seen so far across the country, what is required is a national housing strategy. That solution would entail secure funding and timely building construction deadlines. It would also require “participation by, and co-ordination among, all levels of government along with non-profit groups and a near-AWOL private sector.”
About 4,000 new housing units have been approved in Squamish over the past 10 years. Developers have a choice to include affordable housing in their projects or contribute funds to the district. Many prefer to pony up the cash, but what makes more sense is mandating affordable housing for every deal that gets the green light.
The district has created some relief by passing a bylaw that relaxes the rules for secondary suites – rental units within houses – but more options need to be put on the table. At a recent community discussion, longtime local developer Doug Day said, “the only way to get this done is through the rezoning process.” He added that if land were provided free, interested parties could build rental apartment buildings by borrowing at low rates.
Whatever solution to our housing predicament the powers-that-be come up with, it better arrive sooner than later.
