Okotoks council is prepared to invest in affordable housing initiatives in town. Councillors voted unanimously on Nov. 13 to support the recommendations of the Town’s Affordable Housing Task Force. The recommendations included enabling more secondary suites to be built in Okotoks and relaxing some rules around land use for suites, continuing to monitor and track the need for affordable housing and where gaps exist, and to secure land for affordable housing opportunities like purpose-built rentals. Shawn Rose, chair of the task force, said the volunteer committee, which is made up of experts in housing, design, building and financing, did a lot of research in its first six months. “We’ve cast a fairly wide net,” said Rose. The research included looking into who faces housing challenges in town today. There was a senior paying 52 per cent of a $1,868 per month income for housing, a single mom of four living in her mother’s basement and earning $2,115 per month, a young couple with two children with an income of $3,388 who pay 41 per cent of their income towards housing, and a millennial couple who own small businesses in town and pay 65 per cent of their income toward accommodations. “The cost of housing is eating up the majority of their income,” said Rose. “In many cases people work in Okotoks but cannot afford to live here and must commute from one of the surrounding municipalities. “They’re not able to support local businesses beyond the purchase of necessities. There’s little chance of them being able to purchase a new or existing home in the foreseeable future.” Housing in Okotoks is expensive, he said. Part of the reason is roughly two-thirds of the residential construction has occurred since 1998 and those homes haven’t had time to depreciate, he said. The majority of those homes have three or more bedrooms, and there is a severe shortage of two-bedroom units in Okotoks, he said. Because housing costs are higher, rental costs are also elevated in town, he said. According to the Canadian Rental Housing Index, rent in Okotoks is 24 per cent higher than the provincial average and renters are spending three per cent more than the average on rent relative to their income, he said. In Okotoks, 45 per cent of renters are spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing costs – 30 per cent is the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) benchmark for affordability. “This number is nine per cent higher than the provincial average,” said Rose. “And a full 19 per cent of renters are spending over 50 per cent of their income on their housing costs.” Based on the numbers, he said Okotoks would need to provide 294 affordable housing units to address the needs of those paying more than half their income on accommodations. Overall, 689 rental units at market or subsidized rates would be needed to meet the needs of all those paying more than 30 per cent on housing, he said. The goal is to reduce rental rates in town by about 18 per cent, he said, which would bring Okotoks into alignment with the provincial average. The Affordable Housing Task Force recommended council look at the legalization and creation of new secondary suites and allowing for basement, attached and backyard suites on all types of properties. Changes to the land use bylaw would include allowing co-housing in single-detached dwellings, the accommodation of two-bedroom secondary suites (currently only one bedroom is permitted), parking relaxations, and fee waivers. “The outcomes we could expect are the creation of an inclusive community in which property owners have flexibility in the way they use their property, the promotion of a greater variety of options of rental housing, and as supply increases so does affordability,” said Rose. Coun. Matt Rockley applauded the task force for its recommendations on secondary suites. “There are lots of opportunities for more secondary suites, studio suites, those types of things,” said Rockley. “I admire your courage for talking about the parking and relaxation of parking. We have some pretty hefty parking rules in Okotoks, I would say.” Currently, there must be one extra parking space on the lot for a secondary suite, which in some cases could mean a homeowner is required to have up to five parking spaces on a property depending on its location and whether there is a garage, which Rockley said is excessive. The task force also said council should invest in land for purpose-built rental units. There may be funding available from the provincial or federal government but that financing is often tied to substantial contributions from the municipal government, said Rose. “This could require leveraging land that is already owned by the Town, the purchase of new land for inventory, enhancing the value of land held by stakeholder partners,” he said. Coun. Tanya Thorn said she agreed with the recommendation to put municipal dollars toward affordable housing. “Municipal government in general needs to be investing in affordable housing,” said Thorn. “It’s a key initiative for us from strategic planning, housing is something we all heard, it’s in our strategic plan as being one of our top three priorities so I think this makes sense for us to be a player at the table.” [yop_poll id="23"]
