Photo: Castanet

The City of Kamloops says a second application to receive federal housing-related funding has been denied.

A City of Kamloops housing grant application has once again been snubbed by the federal government.

In a report prepared for Tuesday’s council meeting, city staff said they received word in March that its $11.9 million Housing Accelerator Fund grant application was denied.

The report noted 235 applications had been submitted for this round of funding. Only 62 of those were successful.

“The feedback on our application was positive, including that it was a ‘strong application, good initiatives, good timelines. … Not all strong applications get approved,'” the staff report said.

It’s the second time the City of Kamloops has unsuccessfully applied to receive federal funding through this program, money which would have been put towards local housing initiatives and infrastructure projects.

In July 2023, council authorized applying for a $15.6 million grant. The city heard months later that its bid had been rejected.

The city then put in its $11.9 million application after the federal government announced a funding program top up.

According to the report, the city’s application laid out plans to put $3.5 million towards affordable housing initiatives, including construction, repair and modernization of homes, and land or building acquisitions.

A further $7 million would have been put towards infrastructure, such as roads, sidewalks, lighting, fire halls, investments in utilities like drinking water and waste water, disaster mitigation and public transit.

The city specifically considered using the funds to further the Community Land Trust, which works to secure attainable housing opportunities, upgrading water and sanitary infrastructure, and parks-related projects.

City staff will be presenting alternative funding options before council on Tuesday. The report noted other infrastructure grant options will be explored, including funds available through the Union of B.C. Municipalities.