An application put in by the Village of Pemberton in partnership with Sea to Sky Community Services (SSCS) has been approved by B.C. Housing to bring 61 new affordable housing units to the community.
According to Pemberton Mayor Mike Richman, having affordable housing options is a huge need for most communities in B.C., but especially for those in the Sea to Sky corridor, and has been a priority of the Village’s for years.
“This project will fill a very big gap, but certainly not the whole gap of affordable housing, and we feel the pressure is here in Pemberton just like the rest of the Sea to Sky corridor. In fact in some ways it’s even tighter because our land base is restricted by geography and the Agricultural Land Reserve,” said Richman.
“Small communities, we have to fight hard to go after funds to do projects like this, so this is a big win for us and it’s a big win for our community and we are going to engage with the community and make sure we fill as many needs as we can through this project.”
When built, the new units—that will be partially funded by B.C. Housing and other financing that will be secured by the village later—will prioritize families, seniors and people with disabilities with, “32 units allocated for independent families … 29 units allocated to independent seniors and persons with disabilities” with the final eight being “dedicated accessible units for persons with disabilities,” according to a joint release from SSCS and the Village of Pemberton.
However, applications to apply will be open to anyone—including singles—that meet the household income levels, which range from “very low” to $74,000.
“There will be a variety of rental options including deep-subsidy rentals, rent geared to income, which is when you pay 30 per cent of your household income towards rent, and then a few market-rental options as well, which creates a good balance for this project,” said Jessie Abraham, housing director for SSCS.
“All applicants for this project will need to meet the income limits for BC Housing in order to become a tenant. And generally, applicants must also demonstrate some type of community connection. The exact details really won’t be established until closer to opening, but generally, you have to be a member of the Pemberton community in some capacity to apply for this housing.”
According to both Abraham and Richman, being able to bring affordable housing to a community allows for more diversity and inclusivity, which results in a stronger community.
“In my mind, a complete and healthy and inclusive community allows for all different lifestyles and all different income levels,” said Richman. “And if it’s purely market-driven, the affordability issues will mean that at a certain point it’s going to price our youth out of the market, it will price our seniors out of the market, it will price most of us out of the market and we would end up being a two-dimensional community, so to speak.
“So we are very focused on making sure that, wherever we can, [we] supply different levels of affordability in the housing market and this one is a huge piece of that.”
Despite having limited spacing in the downtown area, a property on Harrow Road was chosen as the location for the build because it met certain criteria including being, “central to services, close to transit, and walkable to the community centre,” according to Richman.
While the build won’t be complete for a couple of years, the Village and SSCS have already begun work engaging the community and figuring out all the zoning work that needs to be done before construction can start.
“We’ve got ongoing processes to go through, we’ve got engagement with the community to really envision this project and get it right, [we have to] look at the zoning we have to do and then obviously the whole construction period,” said Richman.
“So, I would say we are at least a couple years away from cutting any tape.”
