Kimberley City Council has voted to dissolve the Affordable Housing Committee in favour of establishing a new Housing Strategy Committee instead.
At a regular council meeting on Monday, March 25, 2019, Council discussed the new committee and their reasons for dissolving the old one.
Mayor Don McCormick says that Kimberley’s growing population is the reason for challenges on the housing front.
“Social, subsidized and low income housing was the purpose for the original committee,” he said, mentioning the new housing project on Church Avenue that was made possible through the Kimberley Seniors Project Society and BC Housing.
The Church Avenue development will see a 12-unit rental complex with three separate buildings, each with four-unit multi-family dwellings, that will be managed by the KSPS as rental housing.
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McCormick adds that several other developments are in the works that can be classified as affordable.
“It’s about finding homes you can afford. We need to get more supply. The momentum is starting and with this new committee we can address all of the various strategies for getting the housing that Kimberley needs. We need smaller homes and more inventory and there are variables involved including zoning. These [factors] are all relevant to the strategy.”
Councillor Jason McBain said he supports the idea of a Housing Strategy Committee, saying that the word affordable means something different to everyone. He adds that it’s important to have a dedicated group of people thinking about strategies for housing Kimberley.
“[They’re] going to have to be creative with their ideas,” he said.
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Councillor Sandra Roberts says housing is a challenge for the City because there are “so many things that are out of the municipality’s control”.
“We need to make it inviting for developers who want to come and build here,” she said. “I strongly support the ideas for a Housing Strategy Committee.”
“The culture in Kimberley has changed since the original initiative,” said Councillor Kyle Dalum. “We need to remain adaptive and present to the various challenges.”
The terms of reference for the new committee will be brought forward at the April 23 council meeting.