The City of Grand Forks has a clearer idea of how much and what type of housing it will need for the short and long-term future, with an eye on developing more homes suitable for its changing demographics including seniors and families.
The City of Grand Forks has a clearer idea of how much and what type of housing it will need for the short and long-term future, with an eye on developing more homes suitable for its changing demographics including seniors and families.
An overview of the housing needs report developed by Urban Systems was presented to council Monday morning via livestream by Fred Penner, senior planner, project lead and partner with Urban Systems, a multidisciplinary planning, architecture and environmental firm out of Kelowna.
He highlighted key findings in the report, including the age of homes, shifting demographics,
This is to help the city in its decision making for developing housing strategies to address issues like housing gaps, Penner said.
"We consider a whole range of things, not just how many units do we need for community growth," Penner said. "We look at how many units do we need to address core housing needs, like homelessness in the community and so forth."
They look at everything from emergency and supportive housing for the vulnerable, units with long-term supportive care, subsidized housing and market housing, including rentals and ownership.
In the hard data, the report cited the five-year housing need projection for the city is 239 units, and the 20-year projection is 590. This includes extreme core housing need (more than 50 per cent of income goes to household expenses), persons experiencing homelessness, "suppressed" household formation (people who wanted to buy a home/start a family, but were constrained by current market conditions), anticipated growth, rental vacancy rate adjustment and other local demands.
Urban systems reached out directly to the public, Penner explained, as some of the data was a few years old and they wanted to hear directly from people what their experiences were. Among the highlights:
There aren't enough rental properties in the city, as well as what is offered doesn't meet the diverse needs or demographics. Affordability is an issue, especially for families, seniors and single people. Workforce housing availability is affecting the rental market (businesses struggling to recruit and retain staff due to lack of rental housing.) Age and condition of homes is a concern. Financial viability of new housing is becoming a bigger challenge. Supportive, transitional and subsidized housing is needed.
Seniors in Grand Forks, especially, have voiced concerns over the lack of "downsizing" options, said Penner. People are looking to sell their homes and move into more senior-friendly accommodations like smaller homes or condominiums, but those are currently lacking.
While pointing out these issues aren't unique to Grand Forks, Penner explained this backs up what they are seeing in the data.
The report included 160 participants, including 29 in stakeholder meetings, 34 people considered vulnerable or hard to reach, and 51 surveys completed.
Coun. Zak Ebourne-Stoodley pointed out the stats show about 35 per cent of the city's population is 65-and-over seniors and the provincial average is 20 per cent, which has to be considered in any housing strategy.
Mayor Everett Baker says he knows the statistics don't accurately reflect recent population trends, adding the last census was in 2021. Since then, he knows enrolment in the local schools has increased, meaning more young families have been moving into the city.
However, a census by the the Regional District of Kootenay-Boundary (RDKB) about two years ago showed the population was actually decreasing, which he said he disagreed with.
"I think we have far more younger families staying in our community, buying homes, getting jobs and raising families," Baker said. "Hopefully, the new Census data will show that, depending on who participates in the Census."
This report is mandatory for all municipalities as per B.C. Government mandate, Penner reiterated, and is the culmination of the better part of six month's worth of surveys, direct interviews and pop-up-style events around Grand Forks to speak directly with residents and businesses.
It was developed to replace the 2020 housing needs report by the RDKB. It includes housing needs projections for five and 20-year intervals including key elements like affordability, rentals and demographics.
All municipalities needed to have an interim report done by at least 2024 and a full report by 2025, Penner said.
"This isn't an initiative, it's a data document with the best available information that we have on the community's housing and what we may need to focus on and manage in the next five and 20 years," he said.
The report also takes information from the latest Statistics Canada surveys and data from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation and BC Housing.
The full report is available online on the city's website, under Council Meeting Schedule in the Jan. 13 Committee of the Whole video stream.