Imagine living above a fire hall or popping downstairs to renew your library books?
Port Moody staff will begin looking into the practicalities of a new policy that the city include a housing component in the expansion, renovation or construction of civic, fire or safety related buildings.
Such a policy would be especially beneficial to help address Port Moody’s need for transition, low-income seniors, Indigenous or other supportive housing, said Couns. Samantha Agtarap and Amy Lubik, who successfully introduced a motion at last Tuesday’s council meeting, Sept. 26.
"As we go forward as a city, we have an obligation to serve our population in the best way possible," Lubik said.
"We don’t want to miss out on future opportunities to provide housing on city land," added Agtarap.
The councillors cited several examples of similar affordable housing initiatives in communities across B.C., including housing for single mothers at a fire hall and supportive housing at a library in Vancouver, as well as homes above the new city hall in Rossland.
In a report, Agtarap and Lubik said there’s more than 1,000 people on waiting lists for some form of supportive or subsidized housing in the Tri-Cities alone.
"Many of our community members are finding it increasingly difficult to find a safe, stable, appropriate place to live," they said.
📣 SOUND OFF: Do you think it’s a good idea to include housing as part of new civic buildings or renovations to existing one? Send us a Letter to the Editor to share your thoughts. Please be sure to include your full name and city of residence.
