There’s no one magic formula to solve the problem of the lack of affordable or attainable housing in the Cowichan Valley, and indeed, in communities across the province.
The Cowichan Valley Regional District is holding a referendum in the fall in conjunction with municipal elections on whether or not to institute a tax to create a fund to help build affordable housing in the region, primarily by using the money collected to leverage bigger amounts from the provincial and federal governments.
It’s a good idea that has worked for other communities, and is especially worth serious consideration in light of the $1 billion deal signed by the province and the feds just this week for affordable housing.
So far the proposed affordable housing tax has not met with much enthusiasm from the public, but hopefully if some of the questions surrounding the idea can be answered, people will take a second, or a first look. Affordable housing is too important a problem not to.
Also worth considering is the idea put forward by local woman Michele March, who proposed to Lake Cowichan town council the idea of creating a land trust to help create attainable housing.
Land is a key, and increasingly, an expensive part of the affordable housing puzzle. If you don’t have land to build on, you either have to abandon your effort or acquire it at great cost. If a land bank can be assembled a piece at a time over time projects are that much easier to both start, and bring to fruition.
Why should we worry about affordable housing? For the Town of Lake Cowichan and indeed the entire Cowichan Lake area, which is still in a rebuilding phase following the decline of the forest industry that once kept it booming, attracting new residents and businesses is a desirable goal.
While it’s great that some can afford to move to the area and build big homes on the lakefront, that’s not going to create a viable, sustainable community over time. For businesses to move in, they need workers, and workers need places they can afford to live. Seniors on a fixed income or looking to downsize need places to go that don’t involve them leaving their home community. Young families need starter homes. Some folks won’t be in a position to buy at all and they will need places to rent.
It’s about shaping the future of the community.