City to discuss housing needs

Dear Editor: Penticton City staff expects to present an assessment on housing needs at the Tuesday, June 6 council meeting. Those concerned about the housing needs in Penticton should check the time of the presentation and be prepared to attend this meeting and speak during question period to council on this issue. I would suggest that you check the agenda on the City website the day before to ensure that the presentation is going ahead.

The assessment will be addressing the following issues. It is my understanding that fee simple housing will be passed over to the Development Services Committee along with some of the issues below once it is formed.

• Enhancing services aimed at seniors, including ensuring adequate accessibility in housing

• Creating a housing reserve fund

• Enhancing the number of movable buildings

• Working with provincial and federal governments to increase number of nonmarket housing in the community

• Creating more housing in the community to assist with affordability

• Using municipal incentives to increase housing supply (EIZ, DCC reductions, pre-servicing, etc)

• Facilitating development on underutilized land

• Promoting more “ground oriented” housing types

• Reducing parking requirements

• Using inclusionary zoning to promote mixed tenure

• Using education and advocacy to combat NIMBYism

• Looking at partnership opportunities between not-for profit and developers for policy development

• Direct service provision (the City to build housing and develop land through a proxy housing corporation) Elvena Slump Penticton