White Rock needs more housing choices
Task force recommends improvements
White Rock needs to think outside the box to address housing issues.
Mayor Judy Forster made the comment last week during the July 7 Committee of the Whole meeting, during discussion of recommendations for creating alternative forms of housing contained in a report from the Housing Diversity Task Force.
The recommendations “don’t commit council to more than further study,” task force chair Matt Todd noted.
“It’s just identifying areas where things could be improved.”
The recommendations include:
• regulations regarding secondary suites;
• a review of the maximum number of sleeping units allowed in a boarding use and to create the need for those operating a boarding home to obtain a business licence;
• examine current parking provisions with the goal to reducing parking requirements for small units to encourage affordability;
• explore the possibility of the conversion of larger single-family homes into multi-unit buildings; and
• encourage non-market housing in higher density multi-unit housing.
Forster described housing as “one of the most critical” issues in the city. She particularly liked the idea of reviewing the limit on sleeping units in a boarding home.
“There aren’t a lot of choices out there. We need to really think outside the box in the way we deliver our bylaws and allow for different types of housing,” Forster said.
The Housing Diversity Task Force was established in 2006 to examine the city’s housing stock.
Members, including representatives from the White Rock Ratepayers Association, the real estate industry, Semiahmoo Peninsula Affordable Housing Society and the community at large, met 16 times over its tenure.
Points noted in an analysis of the current housing situation in the city include a lack of housing diversity, a lack of purpose-built rental housing, a significant increase over the last five years in the value of owned dwellings, a decrease in the vacancy rate and a lack of access to affordable housing.
Regarding recommendations for creating alternative housing, councillors asked city staff to prioritize the recommendations – characterize them as needing Official Community Plan amendments, zoning amendments or specific policies in order to address them.
As well, they asked for details of anticipated impact of the recommendations to their relevant neighbourhoods, and if they are contrary to the direction council is heading.
The task force also made recommendations in the areas of adaptive housing, child-friendly housing, convenient housing and alternative housing tenures.
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