Question 2
2- What other housing solutions would you consider, and how could the District better support and build on current attempts to bridge the housing gap?
Al Anderson
Employee housing needs addressing in all forms. Resorts have had a requirement to provide staff accommodation but this can only be done at time of development. Many larger employers are seeking to develop housing beyond that requirement and that needs the support of council with as few barriers as possible. What I've learned from other municipalities is that it takes partnering with higher levels of government and with non-profit organizations to meet other needs such as social housing for people of varying abilities to participate in the housing market. Non-market housing can be created through the THC. There have been lots created by subdividing one lot into two. Tofino was well ahead of other municipalities in allowing for secondary suites. Something similar to laneway housing might be suitable in some neighbourhoods. Density has the best cost and removes the least trees but it is always a challenge to get community support for large, tall buildings. I think there are suitable places for high density.
Andrea McQuade
I believe that the ground work that has been laid for development on DL 114 has been incredible, and I would love to see it move forward in a meaningful way - I think it’s a tangible possibility that would take the pressure off our market temporarily.
The district has been acting in an intelligent manner in mandating caretaker suites. Not everyone who lives and works in Tofino is interested in owning a home, and rentals are a key access point for lots of our staff and friends to enjoy the town and contribute to our community in a solid way.
Ensuring that current existing residential properties are not rezoned to become commercial is key - the next council will have to take a careful approach to any rezoning in the name of business to the loss of long term rentals.
Britt Chalmers
I think small apartment blocks geared towards younger individuals and seasonal workers would free up a lot of the family houses that are being purchased to provide staff housing. I think the word affordable housing tends to be mixed in with available housing. Not all residents want to own property, and if we can also provide solutions for this problem I feel it will trickle down into the bigger issues for those that want to but cannot afford to put down roots here.
Chris Heisterman
All avenues need to be considered. I would argue the most effective results are with zoning. All new developments and divisions of land need to be zoned so that they benefit local residents. With most current zoning it is far too easy to make the primary function of the land/home for STR’s (short term rentals). It’s too late to change the current legal STR market. Going forward, the only new (if any) STR licenses on new divisions of land should be granted to compliment residents. This means:
Granting STR licenses only when it is the owners primary residence.
The property needs to be set up in a way so that its primary function is to house locals.
Craig Heber
There is no housing model I wouldn't support to address Tofino's problems, Trends in Europe like Coop Housing and suburbs to Innovative House Designs that minimize effects on environment are the answer that most voters would support.
Council would more quickly bridge the housing gap by abandoning Lotteries and Tonquin Park existing concept and focus on facilitating small home cul-de-sacs designed to meet needs of residents that require them and saves Big Trees.
Dorothy Baert
Build enough housing for affordable home ownership and rental. Create building lots that are affordable. Facilitate a managed, industry supported, seasonal worker housing complex. There are new opportunities to do this with partners, funding mechanisms from tourism tax and other innovative programs such as the newly announced program to help aspiring homeowners meet downpayment requirements. Lots to work with here; it has just taken awhile to get the pieces in place. My goal is the start of housing projects, shovels in the ground, by the fall of 2019. As a current member of the Tofino Housing Corporation Board, I look forward to ongoing needs assessments that are matched by creating housing. I like the idea of a concrete goal which would be that at least 75% of the people who work in our community actually are able to live in our community. We also need to address housing for seniors.
Duncan McMaster
To make housing more affordable one has to build up. At present Tofino has a height restriction for buildings (2 storeys). Although I generally support this height restriction, I believe there are places where there are drastic elevation changes where more than 2 storeys could be built without obstructing views or going above treelike.
Eric Kingsley
The district is currently pursuing a variety of avenues to help alleviate the housing crisis. They are planning new housing developments, cracking down on short term rentals and testing out ideas for trailer parks and camp grounds.
If elected to council I would like to mull over the concepts of tiny or small homes, apartment complexes, off shore housing and take a really good look at what can be done with the zoning bylaws. This crisis will not be solved quickly but with everyone coming together, in time we will find the solutions.
Jarmo Venalainen
All options are on the radar screen and on the table. They include, but are not limited to, a shared bedroom in a house with common areas, housekeeping units, tiny houses, university dorm type housing, duplexes and quadplexes, pre-built dome houses, a trailer park, a traditional long-house with common central area and private sound insulated bedrooms, apartment buildings, campgrounds with services which allow people to bring in their own RV, laneway houses, tertiary in-fill and anything and everything else that the creative people of Tofino and/or their friends and relatives can think of. Which ones we choose and where they go will be up to the community. The process is simple,
Identify the monthly cost which various wage earning groups can afford. For example, a single person earning $24K a year can afford about $700 per month in housing costs.
Identify how homes and types are needed.
Identify what they can look like as per the examples in paragraph one above.
Choose where to have/build these.
Make land available and have them built.
Jason Brown
I am a big proponent of the projects already underway such as Sharp Rd and would continue to help ensure their prompt completion. I think the district has made positive strides forward with the caretaker bylaw but I would push for more bylaw enforcement regarding illegal vacation rentals. The issue is not residents that wish to rent out there extra rooms or a cottage on their property to pay their mortgage, the issue is the absentee owners that are running illegal businesses in residentially zoned areas, cracking down on this would be a high priority for me.
Josie Osborne
While there is no silver bullet to solving the housing crisis, nor can it be solved by only one group or level of government, here are some ways the municipality can support the creation of more housing, moderating prices, and making more housing available for local residents:
Keep building an inventory of resident-restricted price-restricted units (e.g., recent Sea Otter unit sale) by implementing the Community Amenity Contribution guidelines
Use the newly available Online Accommodation Provider MRDT (aka “AirBnB tax”) for affordable housing initiatives
Promote infill through additional building on existing single family lots (e.g., tertiary suites), or where possible permitting subdivision of existing single family lots into smaller lots
Protect existing or newly developed rental stock by applying the new ‘rental-only’ zoning power granted by the Province and continuing strict STR enforcement
Too many properties in Tofino are seen as investments rather than homes: it’s time to reconsider short-term rental regulation and lobby the province to change tax policy on vacant homes and/or speculative purchases.
Stephanie Hugues
I think that we need many creative approaches. I like the idea of re-zoning and ammending by-laws to current existing residential properties to allow for an additional residence on the property. Creating short-term housing for seasonal working residents in the district would relieve some of the pressure off of long-term residents who currently have to compete for housing. I have also been thinking about some of the district, and privately owned land on the penninsula and wondering if there is a possibility of leasing for the development of temporary modular structures and small neighbourhood clusters.
Stephen Ashton
Recognize that this and previous council’s attempts at solving the housing crisis have failed. Looking at partnering with other large private land holders like Mike Poole or the Huebner property and establish not for profit building sites.
Tom Stere
Working with local businesses to provide seasonal staff housing.
Continued relationship with the Tofino Housing Corporation for concrete viable housing solutions.
Working with Federal and Provincial agencies to investigate solutions to an issue that affects many communities across BC with solutions tailored to the unique needs of the District of Tofino.