Affordable housing is the key

Photo: Wayne Moore - Castanet

Mike McLoughlin (l) and Sean Upshaw discuss affordable housing from the top floor of Kensington Terrace in downtown Kelowna.

Candidates running under the Prosper Kelowna banner believe every citizen must be able to afford their own home in order for the city to be prosperous.

Mike McLouchlin and Sean Upshaw held a media briefing Wednesday afternoon on the top floor of a downtown townhouse complex they say demonstrates the type of housing Kelowna needs.

While the eight four storey apartments at Kensington Terrace go for $625,000 each, Upshaw says the row housing concept is something Kelowna needs to keep and attract young families to the city.

"What that basically is, is townhouses without stratification where there is party walls and party agreements and zero lot lines," says Upshaw.

"We think those row houses should be larger dwellings, having at least three or perhaps even four bedrooms in them so families can actually move in. I would say the same for any new condominiums being built...rather than just being one and two bedroom units lets add some three or four bedroom units so families don't have to move out when they have two kids."

Upshaw points to both San Francisco and Portland as cities which have successfully utilized row housing.

McLouchlin and Upshaw also point to the Kelowna Housing Strategy in which 25 recommendations were made.

Upshaw says eight of those (including a row housing concept which is included in the document) should be fast tracked in order to help solve the the issue of affordability in the city.

These include:

• The city needs to promote public understanding of the OCP, this will ease the NIMBY syndrome,  “Not in My Back Yard”. Public education is a key to affordability.
• Allow more Housing Mix: Provide policy that supports a greater mix of sizes, forms, and tenures of housing in new multi-unit & mixed use developments.
• Promotion of Secondary Suites and Accessory Apartments: Add OCP policy to encourage secondary suites and accessory apartments through appropriate zoning regulations. I would add allowing even a third unit where fire regulations are abided. We say: Where the official OCP is being adhered to there should be no Public Hearing required. This was a recommendation that has been partially implemented.
• Promotion of Fee Simple Townhouses
• Promote Courtyard Housing. Similar to row housing, it features buildings closer to the road on a typical city block, with open, courtyard areas in the centre of the block that can be used as play/recreation areas for the residents. It can be done in Kelowna by amending the Zoning By-law. The city’s own mapping research shows that there are over 1,000 existing lots large enough and properly designated in the OCP to allow this type of housing, creating opportunities for developers and residents These could be owner or rental housing.
• Allow more six-story wood frame buildings: Also promote more 3-bedroom condo units.
• Reduce minimum parking requirements in the Zoning By-law for new multi unit housing in the Urban Core. A parking spot in Kelowna is worth $10,000 to$30,000.
• Expand the application of 10 year property tax exemptions to affordable rental housing. One of the major business functions of the City of Kelowna is having a Housing Strategy that allows for sustainable growth that residents and developers can plan around with ease and confidence.

Upshaw cautions that affordable housing does not mean just subsidized or low rent housing but housing that is affordable for all.

He says the average household income in Kelowna is $60,000 a year which could allow that family to afford a $340,000, three or four bedroom row house.