City of Kelowna homes could house poor families

By RON SEYMOURSaturday, March 17, 2007 http://www.dailycourier.ca/article_1041.php

Almost two dozen city-owned homes could be made available as affordable-housing units, Kelowna council will hear Monday.The houses, located around the city, would be offered at below-market rents to low-income families."One of the things the city can do is provide leadership in helping to find solutions to the problem of affordable housing,Ó Coun. Norm Letnick said Friday.Other city strategies, he noted, include requiring 20 per cent of all residential properties that will eventually be developed on the old Kelowna Secondary School site downtown to be designated as affordable-housing units.The City of Kelowna owns 59 homes, most of which have been acquired for future park development or road construction.Staff propose that the 23 properties not expected to be developed within the next two years be classed as affordable housing once the current tenants move out."We wouldn't want to provide people with a place to live and then have to have them move out a few months later," said Letnick, who chairs the city's affordable housing task force.

Current monthly rents for the city-owned homes range from $500 to $1,600 a month, depending on the size, condition and location.Most of the higher-quality properties are on waterfront streets, and they would not likely be considered for designation as affordable-housing units."Tenants would be selected on a first-come, first-served screening basis, subject to meeting income and suitability requirements," said Doug Gilchrist, the city's community development and real estate manager.Lowering the rents on the 23 homes would cost the city $5,000 to $8,000 a year in rental income. At Monday's meeting, staff will also suggest council reconsider a decision made during the budget-setting session in December to reduce this year's planned contribution to the housing opportunities fund to $100,000 from $200,000.Council is also being urged to continue efforts to partner with senior levels of government and the private and non-profit sectors to increase the number of affordable-housing units in Kelowna."The extent of Kelowna's housing need for low-income populations is overwhelming," social planner Theresa Eichler writes in a report to council. "The numbers of people paying half or more of their gross income on housing is intimidating."