You might call it an affordable housing project built on pop cans.
On Monday night at the Seaside Centre, about a dozen Sechelt residents took their first looks at plans for Habitat for Humanity's Sunshine Coast Village affordable housing development on Highway 101 in Wilson Creek.
The seven-duplex, 14-unit development needs council to approve a rezoning and official community plan (OCP) amendment before going ahead. The public information session and open house was a chance for those interested to learn more about the layout, road access, sewage treatment and geotechnical aspects of the site.
The actual costs of development, said former Habitat chair Kenan MacKenzie, will be covered by the $1,000 being brought in each week through the group's aluminum can recycling program, which is on pace to be Habitat's best in Canada for the third straight year.
"Recycled pop cans will eventually buy the property," he said, adding profits from the ReStore building materials store are also chipping in. Sechelt councillors Warren Allen and Ed Steeves heard architect Ralph Schilling and MacKenzie talk about the 0.85 hectare site, acquired by Habitat "under favourable terms."
"The [owner] was going to put in market housing, but offered it to Habitat for a special plan," said Schilling. The terms include rezoning costs being covered by the owner until completion of third reading, after which Habitat will be given three interest-free years during which to repay those costs.
Residents of the village will be within walking distance of the beach and of nearby Marketplace IGA and Canadian Tire stores. Walking may be the fastest way to get there, as Ministry of Transportation rules dictate rezoning any property along that stretch of Highway 101 means an end to that property's direct access to the highway. An undeveloped right of way south of the property will be turned into a lane leading to Field Road. "That back road is important," said Habitat chair Charlie Russel.
The cost to develop the 0.5 kilometre stretch will be around $600,000, though a commercial development proposal behind the former Mazda dealership should cover part of that cost, Schilling said. Under the OCP, developing the right of way also requires bike lanes.
A seasonal drainage channel runs through the middle of the site and will be treated as a natural green asset, Schilling said. Because it's not a fish-bearing stream, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans requires only a five-metre setback for construction, rather than 30 metres.
At Habitat's expected buildout rate of one duplex per year over seven years, Schilling said it makes sense to go with modular package sewer treatment units on site. By allowing the site to serve as a training ground for novice operators of the Glendon Biofilter system, MacKenzie said Habitat may be able to gain a significant discount on the units, each of which will have capacity for four families.
MacKenzie emphasized Habitat projects embody a different development culture and said with enough volunteers from the community, the project could be built as quickly as three years. Construction Aggregates has helped by agreeing to donate gravel for substrate material, he said.
The homes will be made available first to low-income families, who will be required to spend 30 per cent of their monthly income on servicing the interest-free mortgage.
Sechelt council has given the proposal first reading. A public hearing is slated for Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Sechelt council chambers at 7 p.m.
