by Wayne Moore -Feb 26, 2008 Castanet
The City of Kelowna can't solve the lack of affordable housing or the shortage of available rental properties by itself. That's the message at least a portion of City Council delivered Monday. Council admitted it is philosophically divided on the issue during a debate on how to deal with developers requests for density bonuses. The debate centered around the type of compensation developers would be required to provide in exchange for density bonuses. With a land economist report due in approximately a month, and debate expected to last a few more months, City staff recommended a temporary solution which would require developers to provide either a percentage of the additional density in affordable housing or a cash-in-lieu equivalent. "I'm going to try really hard to be calm and collected because I have a fundamental and philosophical disagreement with what we have been doing over the last year," says Councillor, Carol Gran. "These amount, in most cases in the discussions we've had in open council meetings, to blackmail and extortion and I just can't for the life of me understand how we got here." Gran says the City is not able to provide the kind of housing that is needed in this community. "We could assist. There are developers sitting in this audience who were part of group that said we are willing to get involved and help out."
She says it's as simple as sitting down with the developers and non-profit organizations, deciding where the city has land and where the money will come from. "We can do a little bit, but until the other two levels of government get on board and start recognizing the problem and we stop taking it away from them, we're going to have the problem. It isn't just Kelowna that has this problem, it's happening all over." A vote to accept the staff report was defeated 6-2, with Councillor Michele Rule and Mayor Sharon Shepherd voting in favour. In fact, Shepherd was forced to second the motion to get it on the table, something she has never had to do in her two plus years as mayor. "I'm very disappointed. We've asked staff to clarify things so we don't have a debate everytime we get a new applicant in front of us that is putting forward what they think meets the needs of the City as well as what our Official Community Plan is suggesting," says Shepherd. "This is a difficult issue. Councillor Gran, you keep saying we shouldn't take on this responsibility, but we're part of the solution. It's very frustrating because we can't meet the needs of all of our community."
Councillor Barrie Clark says the city can provide some benefits to developers in the form of land and some tax breaks. "We don't have to apologize for one minute in the City of Kelowna for helping non-profits provide housing for people in need," says Clark. "We have done as well and better than any other municipality in B.C. We do have certain powers and we've used them and used them successfully." Clark adds while the City has the ability to provide affordable housing on its own, it has neither the resources or the power to do so. "The federal government and the provincial government have the power to really make an impact on this problem, and that is subsidize people, don't subsidize things." In concluding the debate, Gran says she believes it is time for the City sits down with developers to hammer out some solutions. "I want to suggest your worship that you take a leadership role in this and get a meeting together of the developers, profits and non-profits, and sit down and find out how we can put a deal together for some rental units in this community. If we start now, we might be lucky if they are built in the next two or three years." In the meantime, when it comes to developers and density bonus requests, council will continue to look at each of a case by case basis.
The City of Kelowna can't solve the lack of affordable housing or the shortage of available rental properties by itself. That's the message at least a portion of City Council delivered Monday. Council admitted it is philosophically divided on the issue during a debate on how to deal with developers requests for density bonuses. The debate centered around the type of compensation developers would be required to provide in exchange for density bonuses. With a land economist report due in approximately a month, and debate expected to last a few more months, City staff recommended a temporary solution which would require developers to provide either a percentage of the additional density in affordable housing or a cash-in-lieu equivalent. "I'm going to try really hard to be calm and collected because I have a fundamental and philosophical disagreement with what we have been doing over the last year," says Councillor, Carol Gran. "These amount, in most cases in the discussions we've had in open council meetings, to blackmail and extortion and I just can't for the life of me understand how we got here." Gran says the City is not able to provide the kind of housing that is needed in this community. "We could assist. There are developers sitting in this audience who were part of group that said we are willing to get involved and help out."
She says it's as simple as sitting down with the developers and non-profit organizations, deciding where the city has land and where the money will come from. "We can do a little bit, but until the other two levels of government get on board and start recognizing the problem and we stop taking it away from them, we're going to have the problem. It isn't just Kelowna that has this problem, it's happening all over." A vote to accept the staff report was defeated 6-2, with Councillor Michele Rule and Mayor Sharon Shepherd voting in favour. In fact, Shepherd was forced to second the motion to get it on the table, something she has never had to do in her two plus years as mayor. "I'm very disappointed. We've asked staff to clarify things so we don't have a debate everytime we get a new applicant in front of us that is putting forward what they think meets the needs of the City as well as what our Official Community Plan is suggesting," says Shepherd. "This is a difficult issue. Councillor Gran, you keep saying we shouldn't take on this responsibility, but we're part of the solution. It's very frustrating because we can't meet the needs of all of our community."
Councillor Barrie Clark says the city can provide some benefits to developers in the form of land and some tax breaks. "We don't have to apologize for one minute in the City of Kelowna for helping non-profits provide housing for people in need," says Clark. "We have done as well and better than any other municipality in B.C. We do have certain powers and we've used them and used them successfully." Clark adds while the City has the ability to provide affordable housing on its own, it has neither the resources or the power to do so. "The federal government and the provincial government have the power to really make an impact on this problem, and that is subsidize people, don't subsidize things." In concluding the debate, Gran says she believes it is time for the City sits down with developers to hammer out some solutions. "I want to suggest your worship that you take a leadership role in this and get a meeting together of the developers, profits and non-profits, and sit down and find out how we can put a deal together for some rental units in this community. If we start now, we might be lucky if they are built in the next two or three years." In the meantime, when it comes to developers and density bonus requests, council will continue to look at each of a case by case basis.
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