Increasing the stock of affordable housing in the Tri-Cities is the provincial and federal government's responsibility and city councils should not voluntarily take on the task.
That was the message from Coquitlam Coun. Brent Asmundson, who said municipalities are not equipped to deal with the broad issues associated with rising rental rates and property values.
"I guess my concern is how far do we take downloading into this realm of housing," he said following an update on the city's affordable housing strategy at Monday's land use committee meeting. "In terms of development and density bonuses, we can do some things but we cannot meet the needs that are out there."
Asmundson added that the federal and provincial government have not done their job of funding housing units and the city does not have the resources to subsidize housing.
A report update presented to the committee outlined several successes that the city has achieved since the affordable housing strategy was put in place in 2007, including rezoning land for a homeless shelter at 3030 Gordon Ave. and creating a transitional housing development for women and children at 528 Como Lake Ave.
But with rental housing stock dwindling and property values climbing, city staff and council said finding a place to live has become increasingly difficult for lower- and middle-income families.
As part of the next phase of the strategy, staff is looking at ways of allocating money collected by the city from developers through density bonuses.
Coun. Selina Robinson said the money could go a long way toward helping find a solution to the affordable housing issue in Coquitlam. "There is a real opportunity to do some real creative projects and having some money in the pot will give us the opportunity for a range of projects in the community," she said.
Coun. Neal Nicholson concurred, saying the city needs to find a "made-in-Coquitlam solution" to the affordable housing issue.
"We have shown some leadership," he said, "and we can show a great deal more but it does take money to do it."
Mayor Richard Stewart said that while council supports housing affordability, he has concerns about downloading from higher levels of government and said the city has been criticized by neighbouring municipalities for taking on provincial and federal responsibilities.
Both Stewart and Coun. Mae Reid said that tax incentives are required to encourage the development of more rental stock.
According to the affordable housing strategy update, the benchmark price for detached home in Coquitlam is $697,000.
gmckenna@tricitynews.com
