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City of Salmon Arm supports proposal for mixed rental housing

Salmon Arm council to pursue community housing strategy
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Salmon Arm council is supporting the creation of a community housing strategy that will better position the city to take advantage of housing development opportunities. (File photo)

By pursuing a community housing strategy, city council hopes to open more doors to affordable housing opportunities in Salmon Arm.

The mayor and council got their foot in one of those doors last Monday by agreeing to write a letter supporting the Canadian Mental Health Association – Revelstoke/Shuswap’s bid to BC Housing for a mixed rental housing project in Salmon Arm.

Until Sept. 17, BC Housing is accepting requests for proposals under the Building BC: Community Housing Fund. Proposed projects must consist of 30 per cent affordable housing (for a “moderate income” between $70,000 and $100,000), while 50 per cent would be based on rent geared to income and 20 per cent would be “deep subsidy” based on income assistance rates.

“Hopefully our application will be successful; it’s the only one coming from our community because we don’t want to compete, we want to have our best ask,” commended CMHA director Dawn Dunlop during a brief presentation to council. “We’re working with a development consulting firm to help us put this proposal together.”

Dunlop encouraged the city to include in its letter some of the things the city has done and is doing to encourage affordable housing in the community, including the establishment of a $200,000 reserve that could be used to fund development cost charges, offsite servicing costs or “other aspects for bonafide affordable housing initiatives and/or projects.”

Related: City puts money aside for affordable housing

The impetus for creating that reserve came out of the city’s Housing Task Force (HTF), which, prior to Dunlop’s presentation, had delivered to council its findings and recommendations. The latter include the city developing and implementing an achievable five-year community housing strategy, allocating $60,000 in the 2019 budget for a consultant to assist in the development of that strategy and having the HTF continue to play an active role “along with staff, council and consultants towards a measurable and sustainable outcome.”

“There’s quite a diverse group… quite an experienced group,” commented local realtor Jeff Ragsdale during a presentation with Salmon Arm Economic Development Society’s Lana Fitt on the HTF’s findings and recommendations. “Just the collaboration with First Nations alone I think was well worth it. And you’ve got social services, economic development, real estate professionals, financial people involved, so you’ve got an active group of individuals who are willing to push this initiative forward.”

Related: College wants student residence on Salmon Arm campus

Fitt explained the HTF’s findings are broken down into four main areas of focus: convening with stakeholders to identify housing strategies; educating and communicating to local stakeholders and citizens on housing needs; “regulating and incentivizing housing development in Salmon Arm, as well as leveraging opportunities to invest in our local housing supply.”

“So those four areas really form the foundation of the recommendations…,” added Fitt.

Mayor and council offered unanimous support for all of the HTF’s recommendations, grateful for the work that’s been done by the task force while recognizing the city has a role to play in what happens next.

Related: More housing, services needed

“This task force has been together for five months… in those five months, this committee is currently responding to a BC Housing RFP for dozens of units of non-profit housing; this committee has issued an expression of interest for some safe shelter housing; this committee has persuaded council to set aside a reserve of $200,000 in the event that we would contribute to some development cost charges,” commented Coun. Louise Wallace Richmond, who represents the city on the HTF along with Coun. Tim Lavery. “We submitted a letter to BC Housing asking for support in terms of poverty reduction and homelessness. We’ve written letters of support for the potential application of student residences.

“We have to be responsive – and the province will not hand this to us. We have to go and get it and that’s precisely why we’re doing this. Of course I am delighted we’re all in favour and grateful to all involved.”


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