The City of Penticton says a new provincial housing plan to build more, better, and affordable housing across B.C., could help fill a gap in the community.
According to Penticton’s Development Services director, Blake Laven, the current housing supply is not meeting the demand.
“We’re really excited about any investments in housing and any changes in policy that are going to encourage more housing to be built,” said Laven.
“Penticton is facing a huge housing shortage, we have historically low vacancy rates. So, anything that the province can do to help with that is welcome.”
On Monday, the provincial government announced a new multi-billion-dollar, four-point ‘Homes for People’ plan focused on increasing construction and creating more affordable homes and rental units.
The four points include: opening more homes faster, building better and more affordable homes, supporting those with the greatest need, and creating a market for people, not speculators.
“It has become a crisis for too many people, for example, in their 20s and 30s who are still living with their parents. Even people making a good income are struggling to find a place to live,” said Premier David Eby.
“It’s holding back our entire economy. Businesses are struggling to attract workers who can’t afford to live in the communities where the jobs are.”
The plan will change province-wide zoning laws to allow more townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, and row homes.
The province has also promised forgivable loans for homeowners to build or rent secondary suites below market rates and to introduce a flipping tax to discourage short-term speculation.
“Penticton is building at a historic rate right now, and even though we are building a lot, demand is just massively outpacing supply at the moment,” said Laven. “Our focus has really been on the efficient processing of development applications, trying to encourage more development investment and housing investment in the city.”
“Any help that we can get from the province whether it be direct investment, whether it be removing red tape or obstacles to development is very welcome.”
In the meantime, the mayor of Penticton, along with city officials will attend the upcoming UBCM Housing Summit, to hopefully learn more about what to expect.
“We’re expecting more details on the plan that was announced by the premier today,” said Laven.
“Initially, the plans are very light on detail, but we want to hear more. I think the goals of the plan are really encouraging.”