Infill home with suite under construction. (photo credit: Vernon Matters)

By Kevin Rothwell

Chamber of Commerce town hall

Local mayors questioned about housing

Jun 17, 2021 | 3:00 PM

Coldstream and Vernon civic leaders were both asked about housing and affordability during a one hour virtual town hall meeting hosted by the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce.

Coldstream Mayor Jim Garlick indicated the district is reviewing regulations for carriage houses, secondary suites, smaller lot sizes and subdivision of larger lots.

“What you find in communities is that there are some areas that people are willing to do that, and their neighbors don’t mind it, and other areas, it is a very contentious issue,” Garlick said.

He noted a development off Middleton Way and a 118 lot development off Sarsons Road are both on smaller building lots.

“I think what we find in existing areas, we always have pushback from residents when we go to create things. You move slowly because if you don’t, all you get is pushback and then you don’t get anywhere, because the population won’t tolerate being told what to do. But if we can slowly educate on how to do it, that’s best,” Garlick added.

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Vernon Mayor Victor Cumming was asked about housing for lower and middle income families in Vernon.

He noted that prior to 2018, Vernon had about 300 affordable housing units, and by 2023 there will be over 700.

“We have just completed an overhaul of secondary suites, including carriage houses, so I think that is a really important thing,” Cumming said. “In addition to that, we are supporting smaller homes on smaller lots just because land costs are high.”

He pointed out that the city gives tax relief in designated infill areas and is one of the few jurisdictions to have lowered development cost charges to reduce development barriers.