Apartment Building (Photo 57089415 © Dean Neitman | Dreamstime.com)

By Kevin Rothwell

Regional cooperation a must

Coldstream asked to help with the housing crisis

Feb 22, 2021 | 5:55 PM

Vernon council is backing a motion calling on the District of Coldstream to get involved in solving the housing crisis in the North Okanagan.

Former mayor and Greater Vernon Advisory Committee chair Akbal Mund made the following notice of motion for the Feb. 22 Vernon council meeting:

That council respectfully requests that the District of Coldstream council take meaningful steps toward the provision of more diverse housing types to address the affordability gaps identified in recent Regional Housing Needs Assessment, endorsed by all partners, which indicates that since 2016, 94 per cent of Coldstream’s housing starts have been single family detached while smaller multi family dwellings and rental units would help provide affordable and attainable options for seniors downsizing, renters and households looking to move into home ownership. (Akbal Mund’s motion)

“The District of Coldstream is the second largest community in the North Okanagan, with approximately 11,000 residents. The community does not have any affordable housing plans nor has the community built any supportive housing in the past decade,” Mund said in his rationale statement. “Communities such as Lumby, and more recently Armstrong, have supported plans for new affordable housing projects.”

Vernon mayor Victor Cumming has also brought the issue up, noting Vernon is shouldering the weight on the affordable housing front.

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“Carriage houses, basement suites and small townhomes would be area’s where Coldstream could very quickly move to add additional inventory.” Cumming said.

As reported Jan. 18, 2021 by Vernon Matters, Coldstream council is grappling with the issue of carriage homes and does, under certain circumstances, allow for secondary suites.

The Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) at it’s Feb. 17 board meeting reviewed terms of reference for a Regional Affordable Housing Strategy.

It was noted in the RDNO staff report that meeting the demand for housing over the next five years and longer term would require the cooperation of all North Okanagan communities.

Coldstream mayor Jim Garlick responded to criticism in an article in mid December following the release of the housing report.

“One of the problems with multi-family in Coldsteam is the word affordable doesn’t go with it, because as soon as it’s built, what we find is it’s sought after by people who are non-residents. That actually drives the price up,” Garlick said. “So I think some thought has to be put into it, as to how to keep it affordable.”

B.C. Assessment figures show Coldstream has the highest average home prices at $606,000 in the North Okanagan and 90 per cent are home owner occupied.