Tackling the Housing Crisis
on the North Shore
Tackling the Housing Crisis on the North Shore
Housing on the North Shore is unaffordable and not feasible – especially for our existing rental population, young professionals and families wanting to live here. Municipal policy must focus on who we are building for and what we are building for. We can target this issue by creating a defining guideline on what is ‘affordable housing’ so policy changes can be made.
How Should We Define Affordable Housing?
When an individual household spends less than 30% of their income on appropriate shelter accommodations.
This definition creates an overarching guideline that tackles the questions of:
- WHO we are building for?
- WHAT we are building for?
It is under the council’s purview to ensure adequate, affordable housing inventory for all. Knowing who and what we are building for can guide council on deciding zoning new developments whether this be non-market, rent-to-own, childcare to senior housing.
We can enact this vision for our current zoning and development practices. Using current policy, we can start this vision by expanding the purpose of the Affordable Housing Reserve Fund to streamlining the City’s Inclusionary Housing Policy to be aligned to what is defined by BC Housing as what is considered to be Rental Affordable.
For new secured market rental developments, I would push to adopt that units should be sold at 30% below average rents in the City calculated by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. I would like to expand the amount of units secured to 30% and for new stratified developments, at minimum 10% should be rented at deep discounts or supportive housing levels or equivalent cash-in-lieu. .
Additionally, the City’s Inclusionary Housing Policy only applies to rental and strata developments that are seeking a density bonus. A policy change needs to occur of which our housing policy ensures that this type of housing stock is built and made available in all rental buildings. regardless of density bonus or not.
A PDF is available on the City of North Vancouver site for more details on the Definition of Affordability Updated 2012.
Giving Homeowners Reasons to Densify
Creating avenues to transition single-family homes into multi-family lots without losing the essence of the neighbourhood.
Provincial housing pressures have pushed the creation of more housing supply, the city has done some work in bylaw changes inteneded to allow multiplex housing in single-family neighbourhoods. I believe that we need to enact policy changes that encapsulates the City’s vision of a “dense, complete community”. To complete such a vision, the goal of the policy is to reduce dependency on car travel, and put most amenities within a 15 minute walking distance.
While there are policies that allow homeowners on single-family plots to renovate, upgrade and build secondary suites, laneway coach houses, or multi-plexes, there are no policies that both assist and incentivize homeowners to transform and/or re-design their plots. Of course we will need to engage with our senior levels of government to help fund and incentivize homeowners and developers who wish to develop in the City of North Vancouver. But at the current municipal level, there are two ways I believe we can start this process to engage and bring more homeowners into the idea of renovating their single-lots into multiplexes.
First: The current city’s Housing Initiatives Grant is too limiting in scope and too small in incentives for those who wish to help with the affordable housing crisis. I want to expand the Housing Initiatives Grant with more funding and widening the scope to help promote the City’s Inclusionary Housing Needs towards the City’s vision of ‘dense, complete communities.’
Second: Looking to investigate if we can optimize the zoning bylaw to make it easier for homeowners to renovate their home. Obstacles and bureaucracy are clear limiting factors to those seeking to densify their home. One example comes from the Zoning Amendment Bylaw No .9137, that the new Floor Space Ratio (FSR) is limited to roughly 10% more than what is currently permitted. If the allowed space barely exceeds that of one home, it can be argued that more will opt to be build a slightly larger, pricier house rather than multiple, smaller affordable units.
Making Sure Our Workforce Stays Local
The policy goal of workforce housing is a civic priority aimed at providing affordable, purpose-built rental accommodations for low- to moderate-income essential workers
Whether you are a young parent, a professional fresh out of university or just an individual on the career grind, the price to live on the North Shore is becoming more and more unattainable. Whether you are looking to buy or to rent, the fact that the North Shore leads in having the most expensive housing in all of British Columbia has led many to slowly become priced out of the home that they have grown up and lived in as a kid.
A part of my housing policy goals is the expansion of the City’s Inclusionary Housing Policy to secure more rental and stratified units to become rental affordable. I believe it is time to make policies that help secure and provide housing for working people making low to moderate incomes.
It is time to create a detailed workforce housing policy, aimed towards keeping our workforce from the blue-collar workers, to those in healthcare and childcare, to those in public service, local. As the City continues to build our housing supply, we should dedicate a part of those units (a minimum of 20% units secured) to be set aside for individuals and families earning $30-80,000 per year, with unit-based rent protection in perpetuity, which could become its own specific housing policy or be expanded into the scope of the City’s Inclusionary Housing Policy.
It is time that we acknowledge the North Shore’s need to diversify its housing supply, to acknowledge that the laissez-faire of providng towards private developers and market-based solutions will not solve our housing crisis and to acknowledge that support for these proposals is the first intended step in the direction into proving more housing to our workforce, help reduce the cost of housing and to move the needle towards more proactive, like-minded policies.