The city has set an ambitious target of building 7,900 new units of so-called non-market housing over the next 10 years to provide homes for the increasing number of homeless people.
A staff report going before city council next Tuesday outlines the citys strategy to get the units built but cautions that it will have to rely heavily on money from the provincial and federal governments and other funding sources.
Funding for new non-market rental housing will be achieved through partnerships with the city, senior governments, the non-profit sector and the private sector, said the report authored by Abi Bond, the citys assistant housing director.
The report points out 1,700 supportive housing units are already funded and either under construction or in the planning stage. Supportive housing is defined as housing where such services as health care and counselling are provided to tenants.
The citys short-term goal over the next three years is to add another 1,950 units to the 1,700 already underway for a total of 3,650 new units. To do that, the city must contribute $42 million in land and capital grants to get at least 1,150 of the units built.
The city is also committed to a deal with the developers of the Arbutus Centre that will see 100 new units of non-market rental housing built as part of what is called an in-kind community amenity contribution.
In addition, the city anticipates another 105 units will come from a separate community amenity contribution. B.C. Housing, the housing branch of the provincial government, has plans for 276 more units.
That leaves the city 319 units short of its goal of providing 3,650 units over the next three years. However, the report says, the federal government recently announced $1.4 billion to be spread across the country for new housing and it is anticipated that a portion of this commitment will flow to Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and be available to lever these [319] residential units.
The focus on building affordable housing is being driven by the citys increasing population of homeless people. The citys housing and homelessness strategy, which is attached to the city staff report, pointed out the challenges of finding homes for people.
Some of the challenges include:
Although stabilized in the past two years, homelessness has increased nearly three-fold in the past decade.
Inadequate single-room-occupancy hotels form a key part of the citys housing stock for low-income people but rooms are being lost to conversions and rent increases.
Though supportive housing is being built, the supply will not entirely address the need for housing and will take several years to complete.
Continuing gaps in health care and social safety systems contribute to the homelessness problem. The majority of homeless people have mental health and addictions problems that are not being addressed.
The shortage of rental housing in the city is also connected to developers unwilling to build the units. The city has recognized the problem and is providing incentives such as waiving development cost levies and reducing expensive parking requirements to encourage developers to build rental housing.
The city developed this new approach under what is called the Short Term Incentives for Rental program, or STIR. As of July 1, at least 1,100 units are in the pipeline, 500 of which have been approved.
Mayor Gregor Robertson has promised to end street homelessness by 2015. Street homelessness is a term the mayor has used to describe people living on the street and doesnt include people residing in shelters, temporary housing, hospitals, jails, safe houses, transition houses or couch surfing.
The citys one-day homeless count in 2002 showed that 628 people were homeless in Vancouver, with 535 of those living in a shelter. The 2011 statistics revealed 1,605 homeless in the city, with 1,460 in a shelter.
Although the immediate focus of the city is to build housing for homeless people, the citys housing strategy calls for the construction of 11,000 market rental housing units and 20,000 condos and affordable homes by the year 2021.
As the housing strategy pointed out, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»has the highest house prices in Canada. Since the late 1970s, household incomes increased by nine per cent while the price of an East Side condo ballooned by 280 per cent.
Twitter: @Howellings
