REQUEST FOR DECISION
DATE: July 12, 2017 Report No. DEV-17-043
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Marlene Lagoa, Community Development Coordinator
SUBJECT:
Title
Affordable Housing Workshop (Part 2)
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council direct staff to schedule a special Committee of the Whole meeting to review and discuss affordable housing policies prior to the development of a draft Official Community Plan.
Body
RELEVANT POLICY:
Local Government Act
Official Community Plan
STRATEGIC RELEVANCE:
The examination of affordable housing policies forms part of the Official Community Plan review. The process of reviewing and updating the OCP is identified in Council’s Strategic Priorities 2015-2019.
BACKGROUND:
The purpose of this report is to bring forward options for Council’s consideration on how the Township may proceed with the development of affordable housing policies for inclusion in the updated Official Community Plan (OCP).
A summary report outlining the activities and findings from the affordable housing workshop held on May 5th at the Archie Browning Sports Centre was received at the June 19th meeting of Committee of the Whole (COTW). The Affordable Housing Workshop Summary Report is attached as Appendix A.
The consultant’s summary report recommended the following possibilities for further engagement on affordable housing:
1. Host a follow-up workshop to focus on OCP policy development.
2. Host a design charrette to identify parcels of land where housing could be built and the partners that need to be involved.
3. Create a housing task force that can identify the terms of reference for a housing fund and to explore options for a housing organization.
4. Host another discussion or learning opportunity about resale price restrictions and/or municipal land acquisition.
5. Host a follow-up workshop with the development/builder community to identify the key steps required to support the building of affordable housing.
Possibilities for further engagement were discussed by COTW and included the following:
1. Invite CRD staff and the Coalition to End Homelessness to make a presentation to Council on regional housing funding and programs.
2. Provide stats on the number of legal vs. illegal secondary suites in Esquimalt.
3. Host a design charrette to identify areas where housing could be built.
4. Research what other municipalities have done to address parking requirements in the case of affordable housing developments and rental suites.
5. Consider establishment of a Housing Task Force to assist with the development of housing policy and guidelines.
6. Create more opportunities for the creation of rental units through relaxations to secondary suites and development of detached accessory (garden) suites.
7. Investigate the possibility of tiny homes in Esquimalt.
8. Research what other municipalities have done to encourage apartment buildings and strata’s to allow pets.
9. Encourage developers to build 3 and 4 bedrooms units in multi-family residential developments.
10. Host an OCP Housing Workshop to review and revise affordable housing policies in more depth.
Staff recommends that a special COTW meeting be scheduled to hold a workshop with Council members and staff to review and discuss affordable housing policies for inclusion in the OCP.
ISSUES:
1. Rationale for Selected Option
Section 473 (2) of the Local Government Act states “An official community plan must include housing policies of the local government respecting affordable housing, rental housing and special needs housing.” The purpose of the special COTW meeting is to provide an opportunity for elected officials to review and provide direction to staff on the revision of housing policies prior to the development of a draft Official Community Plan.
2. Organizational Implications
Hosting a workshop for Council during a special COTW meeting would result in the shortest delay, out of all the alternatives presented in this report, in the development and adoption of an updated OCP. The special COTW meeting will be scheduled for August or September. With this option, a draft OCP is still expected to be available by the end of 2017.
3. Financial Implications
There are no direct financial implications to scheduling a special COTW to discuss affordable housing policies. The workshop will be led by Development Services staff.
4. Sustainability & Environmental Implications
There are no direct sustainability or environmental implications to scheduling a special COTW to discuss affordable housing policies.
5. Communication & Engagement
Notice of the special COTW meeting will be posted to the Township website and shared on our social media forums. Furthermore, notice will also be sent to all OCP Review stakeholders, email subscribers, and attendees of the Affordable Housing Workshop.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. That Council direct staff to schedule a special COTW meeting to review and discuss affordable housing policies prior to the development of a draft OCP.
2. That Council direct staff to schedule an Affordable Housing Forum on a weekday evening in October to accommodate residents working daytime hours.
3. That Council consider the creation of a Housing Task Force, once an updated OCP is adopted, during Council’s annual Strategic Planning discussion in January surrounding the establishment of committees.
4. That Council request further information from staff.