Mayor Don McCormick says there is a looming housing crunch in Kimberley and Council needs to get in front of it.
“Anecdotally it feels like there is a less than one per cent vacancy rate for rentals,” he said. “Ask anyone who is looking for a place about how difficult it is. It’s an issue for employers too, who are looking for options for their staff.”
McCormick says lots of people are looking to move to Kimberley — he points to the city’s growth of 800 people in the latest census — but they can’t find a place to live. And that puts a cap on the city’s ability to grow.
A second issue is the available inventory of resale housing. It is quite low, McCormick says, and what is available often involves expensive renovations. Then there’s the cost of lots.
“In Forest Crowne, and Sullivan Landing, which is about to come back online soon, lots are about $100,000. Add to that current construction costs, and you’re looking at over $400,000 for a modest family home.”
The lack of rental properties is one of the most serious concerns, he says. He says some rentals have been taken out of longterm rental and are being used as Air BnBs or similar short term lodging.
City staff is looking into what other communities, such as Nelson and Tofino, who have similar problems, are doing.
“We don’t want to discourage it, we just want to make sure we’re not killing long term rentals.”
McCormick says currently the threshold for charging the hotel tax is four or more rooms.
“Resort municipalities and accommodators are currently lobbying the provincial government to remove the room limit. If that happens everyone in short term rentals would have charge the business tax and pay the hotel tax. The goal is to level the playing field. Plus we want to know where these accommodators are.”
McCormick also says that Council would like to encourage more rental property development.