Show your support for affordable housing

Show your Council that you support their efforts to address our housing issues.....??? What efforts would those be? They have done nothing to address these issues and continue to do nothing. What was Mcnair's solution at the last meeting? For the community to come together and rent rooms to the displaced people? I guess he forgot that he cracked down on people having secondary suites in their houses a few years ago and made it a nightmare for those who wished to do that. What a joke. A demonstration is a good idea and all but really it's not going to do anything because there isn't anything council can or will do about it. This town will continue to function, but in a radically different way than it has for the last few decades. It will all be bought up by the rich and will be just another resort town/playground for the wealthy. It's happened in many other places, what makes anyone think Fernie will be different?
Banff, Jackson Hole, Aspen, Tahoe etc all went through the same thing, they're still functioning but only the very rich can live there. In fact it will be far worse here because the ski area is so close to town. It's a write off, those who can't afford to live here will just have to move it's as simple as that.

I am not sure how the planning laws work in Canada so this may not be relevant but I do know how this issue has been tackled in other parts of the world where I have worked and lived.

A partial answer is that when the local planning authority gives permission for development of expensive properties they do so only on the condition that the developer also builds a number of affordable units which are sold or rented to the less well off in the local comunity at pre agreed low prices. I recall that in Dublin they actually insisted that these units had to be spaced at regular intervals throughout the main development in order not to create a "ghetto" of affordable housing.

Of course the developers squeal like stuck pigs when these terms are imposed as they squeeze their profits but sooner or later they come round to the view that lower profits are better than no profits at all and toe the line.

As I said not sure if this would work under the Canadian system but some thing of the sort must be worth thinking about.

cheers for your reponses guys.

Captain Kangaroo, Canada`s planning laws have some options available to municipalities to do exactly what you describe. it is expected that the soon-to-be released housing strategy will be recommended some of these options. so thank you for your informed suggestions. i wish more people who offer helpful ideas.

at the end of the day the cost of any DCC`s, amenity extractions and the like that are imposed on developers will be passed onto the purchasers and in the case of who is buying up all the land and homes around Fernie currently, i dont mind them paying for Fernites to have a chance to buy in their own community. so let the developers squeal like pigs as you put it Captain kangaroo.

Megadude- thanks for your not so helpful comments. i understand your frustrations, it certainly does feel sometimes like whatever we do doesn`t make a difference. but we can only do what we can do right. we can either sit around and bitch and moan about it - or we can keep trying again and again and again to make a difference.

today`s event had a show of about 40 ppl. most were ppl who have already shown their support for affordable housing in other forums. i think that if more community members who had some opinions about our current housing situation, actually cared enough to do whatever they could to show their support we`d be alot further along then we currently are. its unfortunate but our municipality needs to have the community behind it before if can have the balls to stand up to the developers and the people who profit off of our Fernie. this may change when the council changes or it may not. but thats the card we`ve been dealt with (or voted in) presently so we need to work with that. and as they say, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. so yes, lets support the council in whatever appropriate actions they take.

its simple psychology - positive reinforcement. you should try it Megadude.

We were fortunate to have bought in Fernie before the mad climb of house prices.

Places like France combat out-of-towners inflating property prices by limiting the resale price on certain housing in order to protect young people and allow them on the property ladder rather than price them out of neighborhoods they grew up in. It maintains neighborhood character that way.

What safeguards will be applied to ensure that affordable housing isn't abused and have its own prices inflated?
What procedures are going to be in place to check that someone qualifies for affordable housing?
How is affordable housing going to be taxed for utilities etc, especially for land value as neighbouring house prices rise?
Are there plans to have a co-operative, town council ownership or allow private ownership?
What is there to stop someone buying under the scheme, then selling to a developer after a certain period?

I agree that you don't want to create "Trailer parks" or ghetto like accomodation zones.

What about insisting on the mountain providing affordable housing for x percent of all its employees, similar to univerity styled dorms? It's their staff that cause the seasonal boom that also prices out locals.

on-mountain staff housing! now theres an idea!

RCR has had this in their Official Community Plan since 2000... only because they were forced to include it. BUT, they made sure that they weren't required to install it until they developed over x amount of real estate units etc...... which they haven't yet

RCR won't do what is right until they are forced to... although this year might be an eye opener as I know many are having a hard time finding a place for this season.... nevermind an affordable place!

All of this stuff has been getting suggested for years now, RCR staff housing, developers providing a share of housing to low income earners, tax breaks, price caps, eligibility etc etc etc.

All very relevant, but it's already been posted on here and talked about so many times. What we really need is some positive, physical action. Please, if any of you are developers or real estate agents or council members or know any of these people, then do whatever you can to actually make something happen, but I'm not gonna hold my breath because it seems that none of the people who have the power to make a difference are actually interested. Please, please, feel free to post here and prove me wrong!!

On that note, I have finally had one response to my suggestion to get together and talk about a housing co-op. Without any political or construction knowlege or clout, or huge cash reserves, this is the best I can do but it's better than nothing! If anyone else is interested please post here or PM me.

Alba -

One set of developers are trying to make a POSITIVE CHANGE. The developers of the The Cedars, controversial boundary expansion last year, in their covenant pledge two acres to the City, I believe, at 50% of market value.
The developers did this. Not the City, not City staff. The developers made the offer to the City. If the City purchases the property, they are free to do as the please - develop housing, flip it or sit on it.

grrrlfernie, you are very close to correct. Actually what may happen with that option is this from the Cedars website.

"Belay Enterprises LTD will make available at least one acre of land for the City of Fernie, priced at 50% of market value at the time of transfer. The land or its proceeds must be expressly used for some form of affordable housing. The City will have five years to make a decision."

And from the Covenant itself:

"g. the Grantor has:
i. transferred to the City at the City’s request a portion of the Land comprising not less than one acre for a purchase price of 50% of the market value of the land at the time of transfer, which request shall be made not later than five years from the date of registration of this Agreement, for use by the City as land for affordable housing, or the proceeds from its disposition must be used to provide affordable housing opportunities somewhere within the City of Fernie, or
ii. offered to transfer such land to the City and received written notice that the City does not require the land.
For this purpose, “market value” means the per acre B. C. Assessment Authority assessed value of undeveloped portions of the Land on the relevant date or, if the parties do not agree that the assessed value shall determine “market value”, the average of two appraisals of the per acre value of undeveloped portions of the Land prepared by members of the B.C. Association of the Appraisal Institute of Canada for each of the parties at that party’s cost.