Canmore is packed with people from around the world looking to relax in the mountains. The visitors need a place to sleep and eat but the workers in the mountain town also need a place to live.
“I would say the need is dire,” said Sky McLean, the CEO of Basecamp Resorts. “We need it so badly as an organization, and I know, amid my peers of entrepreneurs and business owners in the Bow Valley, everybody needs employee housing.
“If you don’t have employee housing in this region your business is kind of dead in the water.”
Basecamp Resorts has some affordable employee housing for staff including a four bedroom housing unit above the office on Bow Valley Trail.
“It’s brand new and it’s built to code with four bedrooms. Each bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and it’s convenient,” McLean said.
But the town’s subdivision and development appeal board recently turned down a request by Basecamp Resorts to build second-floor employee housing in a light industrial area at 100 Alpine Meadows.
“There’s no consistency with the approval process. I was really hoping that it would be a no-brainer given what we’re going through as an organization and I know so many businesses are going through with the struggle,” McLean said.
Eleanaor Miclette, the town’s economic development manager, is aware there are inconsistencies in the current policies related to employee housing in industrial areas, which were not designed for residential use.
“Sitting in an industrial park and having big trucks and the noise and the smell is not always the best mix of housing and industrial. Going home is not necessarily relaxing then.”
Residential areas have bylaws to protect residents, but those same controls don’t exist in industrial areas and there’s the question of how permanent the housing is.
“What happens if you lose your job?” questioned Miclette. “What happens if you want to leave your job? Does that mean you lose your housing? And often it does.”
Canmore’s mayor says the town is facing a housing crisis and worries the town could become turf of the wealthy with the workforce being squeezed out.
“You lose a fully functioning community. You often lose your school and your professional sector. They will move to another centre and what you’ll have is a shadow of its former self,” said Canmore mayor Sean Krausert.
“We need to do everything we possibly can. We are looking at tax and land-use policy that encourages purpose built rentals and also encourages long-term residency use of residential units as opposed to short term rentals. We are looking at creative ways, whether that be allowing employee housing in industrial zones or gentle densification of our town centre or other parts of our community.”
On July 4, town council voted to postpone a decision until its Sept. 5 meeting when all seven council members are available.
“It shouldn’t even have been a question. It should’ve been yes anywhere we can get safe and affordable housing – brand new and built to code – all of that stuff should be a slam dunk. It was really heartbreaking that it’s been postponed, but at least it’s not a no,” McLean said.
The Town of Canmore is also looking at a new housing plan that includes several initiatives to battle its ongoing housing crisis — including phasing out tourist homes to open up vacancy for permanent and long-term residents.
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