Affordable housing, new city hall among City of Armstrong priorities for 2021

Photo: City of Armstrong

Affordable housing tops the list of priorities in the City of Armstrong's 2021-25 strategic plan.

The newly drafted plan, to be considered by council on Monday, lists affordable housing as the community's No. 1 objective.

Council intends to work with a housing society to provide affordable rental units and affordable housing for homeownership, the report states.

A housing needs strategy completed in 2020 with the Regional District of North Okanagan found there is a shortage of more than 1,000 affordable homes in the region.

The report noted a shortage of accommodation under $500 per month designated for individuals and families with incomes of less than $20,000 a year.

Armstrong's No. 2 priority is economic development.

Included under that umbrella are an update to the Official Community Plan, implementation of a business recovery program, and continued work on the Armstrong to Sicamous Rail Trail, with a focus on connectivity into the city.

Civic facilities and a new city hall are third on the priority list.

The current city hall is in a 100-year-old building that is past its prime. Concept drawings for a new building have been done, but the project has not yet gone to tender. That will be contingent on Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure grant funding outcomes, the report notes.