Affordable housing advocate De Whalen said she is pleased the City of Richmond is revamping its eight-year-old housing strategy, however she’s calling on municipal support to consider creating a local housing authority.
Poverty Response Committee member Whalen said the authority would coordinate housing under one roof, likening its services to a “one-stop shop for renters seeking accomodation,” in a statement to Richmond city council’s planning committee.
“The current affordability gap is getting bigger and people have to use money earmarked for food, transportation, childcare and utilities to fill that gap every month,” said Whalen.
Richmond’s rental housing vacancy rates have historically been below two per cent, year over year.
Whalen said social service providers are telling her they can’t find housing for their clients in Richmond.
According to a staff report, which was approved by Richmond city council Monday, the new affordable housing strategy — to be completed by the end of 2016 — will continue to target the three existing priorities: subsidized housing, low-end market rental and affordable entry-level home ownership.
The city states it will create a summary of housing needs, as it did in 2007.
In order to provide for those needs, the city has, in the past, procured cash contributions from developers to build projects such as Storeys, or the new Kiwanis Towers.
The city has also asked developers of large projects (more than 80 units) to build five per cent of the units as low-end market rentals, which are to be governed by the city.
After the city doubled some affordable housing cash-in-lieu fees earlier this year, council has requested the city assess whether or not five per cent is adequate.
Whalen said it is not and governments — including the federal government, which abdicated itself of housing responsibilities in the early 1990s — need to stop looking solely to the private sector, as the housing problem has only gotten worse by doing so.
“We have to start building purpose-built rentals,” said Whalen. “You can’t depend on the private market or individuals to rent out their piece of glass in the sky, below market value. Government has to step in.”
She also said the city needs to increase the income threshold for people applying for entry-level home ownership units. Presently, the threshold is $60,000.
Coun. Carol Day said the number should increase, while Coun. Bill McNulty said it’s sufficient.
The city developed its existing strategy in 2007 and, to date, says it has met its goal in providing subsidized housing for the most vulnerable demographics, such as seniors and disabled people.
Since 2007, the city has created 460 subsidized units, including an under-construction, 129-unit development — overseen by five non-profits — named Storeys.
Where the strategy has come up short of its targets is providing for low-end market rentals (238 to December 2013) and entry-level homes (19 to December 2013).
