KELOWNA, B.C. – A planning and engineering firm lead a discussion on affordable housing Monday night in Kelowna toward generating solutions from the entire community.
Urban Systems wants to open dialogue in support of the Imagine Kelowna initiative, which will help shape the city’s future for the next three decades.
About 200 people came out to participate in the forum.
“With rental vacancy rates sitting at less than one per cent and the price of homes taking off, topics like housing and affordability are top-of-mind these days,” said Erin Welk, a consultant with Urban Systems.
The City of Kelowna has almost no developable land left within it’s boundaries which means neighbourhoods are going to have to change to accommodate growth in the country’s fastest growing region.
“There is a big sector of the population that can’t even afford what we define as affordable housing,” said Laurence East with Metro Community Church, a group that also does outreach to the city’s most vulnerable populations.
“What we tend to find is that people end up congregating in sort of blocks of six or eight people living illegally in what should be a suite for two just to make it affordable,” East said.
Urban Systems will continue the discussions by holding further forums Oct 25 on economic development, Nov 16 on climate change, and Dec 8 on transportation. The events are free, but registration is required.