Sechelt council has approved creating a statutory reserve fund for affordable housing, but has deferred initial readings on the creation of a similar fund for community amenities.
The district already has an account where it’s been holding cash contributions for affordable housing from developers and the reserve fund bylaw spells out that “monies in the Reserve Fund shall be used to encourage, create, stimulate and secure affordable housing opportunities within the District of Sechelt,” which includes things like drafting an affordable housing strategy, buying land, or funding affordable housing projects for registered societies, not for profits, community partnerships, commissions or district-owned corporations.
Adoption of the bylaw also clears the way for Sechelt to provide some of the funding requested recently by the Sunshine Coast Affordable Housing Society, which has now made presentations to Sechelt, Gibsons, and the Sunshine Coast Regional District outlining the need to hire professional staff as it moves forward with its first big projects.
The society aims to use the local government funding as a bridge until the rental income from its developments starts to flow.
Council also voted at the Oct. 16 meeting to authorize the transfer of around $63,750 from the affordable housing account into the statutory reserve.
The community amenity reserve fund, which was also on the Oct. 16 agenda, is being proposed to hold and administer money collected from developers for assets such as recreational facilities or parks, contributions for libraries, museums, archive or heritage conservation, public art or “downtown revitalization.”
Coun. Matt McLean said that although adopting the affordable housing reserve bylaw made sense, he wanted to hold off on considering the amenities reserve until after councillors had a chance to discuss a policy on how to collect and administer the funds.
The policy, which was due to be presented at the Oct. 23 committee of the whole meeting, would cover both reserves.
A staff report on the proposed policy attached to the committee agenda says, “A clear and implementable policy will provide transparency and consistency in future discussions relating to amenity contributions. The policy will be communicated clearly at the outset of development applications.”
The draft policy spells out recommended cash contributions from developers of between $3,600 and $5,000 per unit for both the amenities and affordable housing reserves as well as options like on-site units for “non-profit registered society for permanent affordable housing.”
“I’d like to see the accompanying policy while we’re considering the bylaw… To consider one without the other just seems incomplete,” McLean said in putting forward a motion to defer.
Coun. Tom Lamb, who voted in favour of deferring, said he was generally supportive of setting up a specific statutory reserve but had outstanding questions.
“If we set a monetary value with developers, is that something that can be negotiated?” he asked.
McLean, Lamb and councillors Eric Scott, and Janice Kuester supported the motion to defer.
