Canada/Vancouver Island, Saanich wants to build more affordable housing

In Saanich, on Vancouver Island, Mayor Dean Murdock and his council want to make their district municipality more affordable. So they are looking at options to build more market and non-market-rate housing.

Our goal is to ensure that we add more housing for more people in a more timely manner," said the mayor.

Saanich is the most populous district municipality in the Capital Regional District (CRD) on southern Vancouver Island. According to the 2021 census, 117,735 people live in Saanich, and 91,867 in Victoria.

A recent report on housing strategy in the CRD

shows that there is still a housing shortage, with only 182 new units approved in 2022, compared to an estimated need of 610.

The report also explains that from 2005 to 2022, average home sale prices increased from 145% to 191%, and median rents increased from 79% to 96%. Median household incomes, on the other hand, increased by only 56 percent. This data was obtained from several agencies, including Statistics Canada.

Dean Murdock says his municipality is "actively seeking" to offer municipal land to non-profit housing organizations so they can build affordable housing below current prices.

"I think by offering the land, it removes one of the major cost-prohibitive factors."

- A quote from Dean Murdock, Mayor, Saanich

No zoning changes throughout the area

One of the sites being considered is a Greater Victoria Public Library, near a supermarket, school, and other businesses. A new building could still house the library, but accommodate affordable housing on the upper floors.

Saanich hopes to attract the attention of the province , which invests in housing, by offering land for such projects. Dean Murdock explained that council is also considering allowing off-market housing projects to be built with a simple permit, rather than a lengthy process that requires mayor and council approval and public hearings.

Saanich is not considering a complete overhaul of its zoning, as Victoria has done, but the mayor says a study is underway to identify urban and non-rural areas that could be rezoned.

Diana Gibson, executive director of the non-profit Community Social Planning Council, is pleased with Saanich's plans. Her organization is looking for solutions to social problems in Greater Victoria, including housing.

She says there is growing awareness that there is a housing crisis, but it doesn't seem that crisis management has been activated. She feels that all levels of government should be involved in every decision and ask themselves if this will facilitate affordable housing as soon as possible.

Gibson believes that local governments now have the capacity to lead non-market housing projects, and hopes that Saanich, like others, will move in that direction.

Source: ici.radio-canada.ca