View Royal to do first assessment of housing needs
Town’s population expected to rise to 13,900 by 2038, with most growth in 60-and-older group
View Royal is looking to conduct its first housing-needs assessment.
“We’ve never done one in View Royal, so I think you could argue it is time we had one,” said Mayor David Screech.
The town has put out a call for proposals to examine issues such as housing affordability, suitability and availability across the entire housing spectrum, from high-end condominiums to basic shelter.
B.C. municipalities have until April 2022 to prepare a housing-needs report to meet new provincial requirements.
View Royal received a $20,000 grant for the study, which is expected to cost a maximum of $45,000, said Screech, noting council approval of the study was contingent on receiving a grant to offset costs.
“Certainly some of council thought this should be a regional initiative rather than each [municipality] doing our own,” said Screech.
“Hopefully, with the individual ones and the regional numbers, we can come up with a clear idea of what we need and what gaps there are that need to be filled.”
While some regional research has been done on housing options and projected need, there is no complete data set to explain the state of housing in View Royal, the call for proposals says.
Screech said recent council deliberations over issuing a development permit for a six-storey affordable-housing project on West Park Lane near Thetis Lake highlight the need for collecting the data.
“There was a fair amount of angst about that and, if we had this sort of study, I think we’d be able to categorically show that that type of housing is very needed,” Screech said.
Population projections for Greater Victoria suggest the majority of growth is expected to occur in the age group of 60 and older, the call for proposals says, and that demographic might require different housing options as time progresses.
According to the 2016 census, View Royal is home to about 11,000 people. Growth rates over the past 10 years have run higher than the national average at between seven and nine per cent.
Even with a modest growth rate of one to two per cent, View Royal’s population is expected to swell to 13,900 by 2038, many of them seniors.
“The town requires an analysis of the types of housing needed to provide support for this group,” the call for proposals says. “At the same time, the town has long been a family-friendly community, and understanding the needs of working families and younger households is equally important.”
A housing-needs report will look at: • Key areas of local need, including affordable, rental, special-needs, seniors and family housing, and shelters and housing for people at risk of homelessness. • The number of housing units required to meet current and anticipated housing needs for at least the next five years, by housing type (with housing type defined by number of bedrooms).