Affordable Housing
Housing Needs Assessment 2020
In 2020, the Town of Gibsons, SCRD and District of Sechelt worked together with the community to develop the Sunshine Coast Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) to inventory current housing costs, population trends and understand future demand for housing. The Housing Needs Assessment Implementation Framework, a follow up to the HNA, outlines what can be done to attract affordable housing development in SCRD rural areas.
The goal of the Housing Needs Assessment is to have an up-to-date picture of the housing needs (population trends, housing stock, rental availability, rental cost, future demand, local economics) in order to better understand what housing types are needed in the next 5 years and beyond. HNAs can help to identify and understand gaps in housing supply to inform and shape future policies, regional plans and land development. Housing Needs Assessments are now required by legislation in BC and will need to be updated every 5 years.
Affordable Housing Policies
In September 2018, amendments to the Halfmoon Bay, Roberts Creek, Elphinstone and West Howe Sound Offical Community Plans were adopted to incorporate densification strategies to support affordable housing. These strategies are intended to provide criteria for evaluating densification proposals and tools to support and secure contribution to affordable housing.
In early 2017 SCRD staff began research on identifying areas and opportunities for increasing residential densities to support affordable housing. Upon receiving comments on this research from agencies and Advisory Planning Commissions, staff conducted a comprehensive review of existing Official Community Plan (OCP) policies related to affordable housing, and provided recommendations on a number of land use policies to support affordable housing. In October staff introduced proposed OCP amendments for 5 electoral areas to implement these policies.
Staff Reports:
- 2021 June Housing Needs Assessement Implementation Framework - Action Plan
- Research on land use planning opportunities to support affordable housing
- Report on referral feedback and comprehensive OCP review regarding affordable housing policies
- Report on proposed OCP amendments to implement affordable housing policies
- Report on revised OCP amendments - densification strategies to support affordable housing considerations for second reading
- Report on OCP amendments - densification strategies to support affordable housing - public hearing report and consideration for third reading and adoption
In April 2014, the Sunshine Coast Housing Needs Assessment Update Report analyzed the need for affordable housing on the Sunshine Coast and addressed demographic, economic and real estate changes since 2009. The study incorporates data from the 20011 Census and National Household Survey collected by Statistics Canada.
The Sunshine Coast Affordable Housing Study (2006) assesses the extent and nature of the need for affordable housing on the Sunshine Coast. The study was updated in 2009 to incorporate information from the 2006 Census.