Vernon votes: Council candidates talk housing and affordability

Castanet asked all candidates in Vernon's municipal election for their thoughts on five local topics. Today, they offer their opinions on housing and affordability.

We've separated comments from council and mayoralty candidates. Note that not all candidates responded.

BRIAN GUY: My vision is that everyone in Vernon has housing that meets their needs. At present, there are three housing issues: a shortage of supply, affordability, and insufficient diversity of housing types.

The city should continue to fill gaps in the housing supply and help make housing affordable for all; and should work with higher levels of government to encourage them to continue contributing to subsidized housing in Vernon.

ROSS HAWSE: Housing affordability is a critical issue right across Canada. Affordability has the biggest impact on the most vulnerable via housing insecurity and secondary effects of housing insecurity. Over time, the barriers to entry have become so significant that I have had multiple conversations with folks that never foresee being able to own a home.

These are hardworking people, young families, single persons, or in the case of a senior couple wanting to move into a more suitable home with no stairs or close to services, selling their homes today, won't provide enough equity to qualify for a newer home.

I’m committed to developing and maintaining safe, affordable housing through adding density where services are available. I think it’s paramount to physical, economic and social well-being. Low-income rentals are important, but we can’t forget about the missing middle. We need to look at laneway and carriage houses, secondary suites; pre-wired suites on new builds and tax breaks or incentives to help encourage developers, and the city needs to do its part on timely licensing and permits.

STEPHANIE HENDY: The RDNO has recently developed a North Okanagan Regional Housing Strategy.

I would prioritize the following actions of this strategy: create a housing advocacy resource to manage a regional rent bank, government relations, convene roundtables with stakeholders, produce a report card on housing issues, and manage an inventory of municipal-regional-public-non-profit lands available for housing.

Also, to identify land that may be made available for affordable housing projects. A regional inventory could be used as the basis to explore a long-term funding strategy with BC Housing.

Infill housing and secondary suites will provide more rental options for low-and moderate-income households.

AKBAL MUND: We have built more units in the last eight years for low-income housing than we have in the previous 20 years.

The past two councils have been very proactive in securing land and working with BC Hosing to put these units in place.

As for affordability, there need to be more incentives for developers, starting with provincial and federal grants.

ED STRANKS: The city needs to amend the Official Community Plan to encourage residential growth in targeted areas with less red tape.

The zoning bylaw needs to be revised to eliminate repeat variances supported by staff and council (e.g. parking and setbacks). These types of variances cost developers time and money, which is then tacked onto the cost of that housing.

Changes to these (and other) bylaws are required to encourage more growth in all sectors and eliminate housing shortages that in turn, drive up prices.

DAWN TUCKER: I will encourage our neighbouring jurisdictions to step up and support the City of Vernon in leading the charge to make available more affordable and attainable housing in the North Okanagan.

To find more land for affordable housing projects, I will demand an inventory of all city-owned lands, and I will also request that we update the inventory of properties owned by not-for-profit, service clubs, faith groups and government agencies (i.e. all other municipalities, RDNO, provincial, federal) in the North Okanagan, as it was last conducted in 2011.

PATRICK VANCE: This issue has impacted every age and family type.

We need to explore every reasonable way to make Vernon an attractive place for developers to do business to address the demand pressure of our housing and rental market, and to alleviate the growing housing crisis that faces our residents who struggle to find a home even while fully employed.

TERESA DURNING: This past 10 months has given me the opportunity to make a motion during our strategic planning to make housing a priority for staff. The staff has been working on a housing plan with a recommendation to assign a staff position to support the objectives of the plan.

Housing for middle class families, seniors and people with disabilities will continue to be a priority for me, and I hope the next four years allows us the opportunity to make great strides in this area.

We should also continue to review and improve some of the barriers to building in Vernon, such as parking requirements; city process efficiency and high development cost charges that are potential deterrents to developers.

KELLY FEHR: Housing affordability and availability is the biggest issue that Vernon residents are struggling with. This term, elected officials, staff and the community completed the Regional Housing Needs Assessment. This was an essential step in moving towards developing Vernon’s Housing Strategy.

As the chair of Vernon’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, I have been actively involved in shaping Vernon’s Housing Strategy.

Some of my priorities for the next term include: create a full-time permanent position for a housing planner to implement policy changes, streamline and accelerate the review of affordable and attainable housing projects; explore zoning amendments and additional incentives to accelerate the development of new rental housing; explore zoning amendments to support affordable home ownership and rental, including floor space ratio density zoning, small lot subdivisions, minimum home size and tiny house zoning, rental zoning, zoning for manufactured homes, and apartment lock-off units and support build-out of land already acquired for affordable and attainable housing and leveraging assistance from the Affordable Housing Reserve Fund.

KARI GARES: I have been in the mortgage industry for almost two decades and have seen the challenges that many face when trying to buy or find affordable rental space. The affordable housing crisis is only going to get worse unless governments recognize the barriers they themselves have created.

We must act quickly and with motivation to make significant changes so that no one is faced with the hardship of finding a home. It's a nationwide issue and our little community has not been left unscathed. I see young families being forced to leave their community because housing is scarce. I see businesses struggle to attract and retain employees because housing is not easily found.

Housing is a central piece to prosperity. We must ask ourselves, "what is our role and how can we prevent a further erosion of our social-fabric?"

I am currently working on a housing strategy through the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee that will help to lay out the framework for the city to follow. I helped to push for change within our development/building processes as a mechanism to reduce red tape and barriers to development.

Mayoralty candidate responses appear below.

SCOTT ANDERSON: So-called 'affordable housing' is important, but the actual definition of it according to the provincial government is confined to subsidized and supportive housing. This means it benefits a relatively small number of people who qualify by low income or other issues that require outside supports. The actual housing crisis is far greater than that, and on a scale completely outside the ability of the provincial government to address. The fact is, we lack housing across the entire socio-economic spectrum.

Relying on government to trickle out state-sponsored housing at a snail's pace and on a small scale, we need to build on a much faster scale. For that we need the private sector.

To engage the private sector fully, we need to streamline our permitting process. This is widely recognized by both senior governments, and in fact provincial Minister David Eby recently threatened to take control of some permitting away from cities entirely because of the slowness of the approval process.

The administration here in Vernon has made a start to this process, but if elected I will make it a priority, and request input from council. Affordable housing is important, but attainable housing, and lots of it, is what we need to truly house everyone and bring prices down.

VICTOR CUMMING: Regardless of your income, living by yourself or with others, our community must offer housing that meets your needs. The city needs to continue to successfully lobby the provincial and federal governments, promote multi-family housing in appropriate areas, provide land, development cost charges and development approvals to enhance acceleration for non-market housing.

The rental vacancy rate in Vernon is currently at just less than 1%, which means there is basically very little rental accommodation available. Prices for rental housing continue to climb for all types of units. Those with moderate or low incomes find themselves, even with current price corrections, with either no permanent housing or housing that they can find that does not meet their needs, nor their wants.

Additional supportive housing units for those experiencing homelessness are needed obtained by consistent involvement with BC Housing using the strategy that has been successful in the last four years. Expand affordable units for seniors using the same strong strategy with BC Housing, including the city providing the development cost charges, accelerated approvals and parking variances plus adjusting parking requirements in the inner core where it is warranted.

Housing priced for those who are employed in Vernon will require focused planning, public and philanthropic land made available to co-ops and other innovative ownership models, zoning for low-rise apartment development and low equity options for individuals to enter the market.

ERIK OLESEN: Housing/affordability is the No. 1 issue I'm hearing in conversations. What we need to do as leaders is to find ways to create opportunities for investment in housing within our neighbourhoods and removing red tape.

We need to start looking at smart growth principles, we need to look at density opportunities within the core, we need to provide attainable housing, and we need to focus on housing for the lower to middle class.

The mayor needs to be providing leadership on housing, working respectfully with regional partners, the province and federal governments and making sure our city has the capacity to process development requests.

We can't put barriers up for ourselves as leaders by getting into arguments with the province or our fellow council members because the only person hurting from that leadership style is the residents.