Plans to turn a vacant city-owned lot into an affordable housing complex is one step closer to reality after the city gave preliminary approval to the development. The lot, directly adjacent to the water reclamation centre on 4300 block 19th Ave., will be the site of a 40-unit multiple family complex which will also include a daycare facility. Council gave the plan preliminary approval and will send it to staff to work out the legal details surrounding lease conditions and rezoning that must be done to allow for medium density residential development. However, Coun. Pat Cochrane, the lone vote against approval, felt that the area next to the water reclamation centre was inappropriate for housing. “I just don‘t think we should be building residential properties next to the sewage treatment plant,” said Cochrane, “I still think a buffer should be maintained between the plant and other houses in the area.”
The housing will be in the form of row housing and an apartment building, and will be managed by the Vernon Native Housing Society, who will ensure that the rental units will be available at an “attainable” rental rate. A city report outlines that the proposed affordable housing complex is designed “so that residents will benefit from the adjacent, small neighbourhood park.” Cochrane said he felt that the area should be left as it is or developed to create a larger park. “I think that having balconies and windows that will be directly looking over the sewage treatment plant is poor planning,” said Cochrane. However, Cochrane added that he nevertheless has “incredible confidence” in the plant. This statement caused Coun. Juliette Cunningham to angrily question Cochrane on where he felt affordable housing should go. “We‘re attaching a stigma to it. It‘s not far from the berm to where houses are now and they like that community and like their neighbourhood,” said Cunningham. Despite his misgivings, Cochrane is hopeful that the plan will succeed. “I just hope I‘m wrong and it does work out and isn‘t a standing joke in the community.”
------------------------
Don Quixote Note: As you can see by the info at left there is a possibility that these 40 units may be applying to the City to waive or offset DCC Costs. At approximately $10,000 Road and Sewer DCC's per unit this would be a cost to the City of $400,000. The last time the city attempted to waive the DCC's for such a project they found out that DCC's could not be waved and a grant from the Affordable Housing fund was in effect transferred to the DCC Fund to accomplish the intended goal. ($130,000 was used to finance the DCC's for the Good Samaritan Society's project on 20th avenue) BUDGET 2007 ASSISTED HOUSING RESERVE $150,000.
I have been trying to get the City to accomplish the same goal by amending the DCC bylaw for at least 3 years by charging such projects at a $1 per unit rate. This would accomplish the goal of helping these kinds of projects while at the same time not having the taxpayers pay for the entire revenue loss. As recently as this Monday I have asked the Engineering Dept. to investigate whether this is legally possible. I acknowledge Coun. Beardsell's caution that this would have to be offset in the DCC bylaw by some increases but given the magnitude of the DCC funds required the adjustment upwards would be minimal.
This change to the DCC bylaw and a similar change to allow the one year DCC holiday to legalize existing suites and reduce DCC's by 1/2 in new construction which cannot be waived and will cause the Council to dip into the Affordable housing Fund which stands at $550,000 or have to tax the residents and businesses of this City must be tackled immediately. I have previously suggested a call to Victoria to see if the time for implementation re the DCC holiday could be expedited.
The answer for the nonprofit housing adjacent to the water reclamation centre may be simple if the following section of the LGA is still in effect and I believe it is. Hopefully the City will read this in the blog and ascertain if this section could be used to waive the DCC's without having to dive onto the Affordable housing fund?
http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/stat/L/96323_28.htm#section932 Division 10 — Development Costs Recovery Definitions 932 In this Division: (11) As a restriction on (a) sections 176 (1) (c) [corporate powers – assistance] and 183 [assistance under partnering agreements], and (b) sections 8 (1) [natural person powers] and 21 [partnering agreements] of the Community Charter, a local government must not provide assistance by waiving or reducing a charge under this section.
(12) As an exception to subsection (11), a local government may provide assistance by waiving or reducing a charge under this section for not for profit rental housing, including supportive living housing.
No comments:
Post a Comment