Tofinosa国际传媒檚 housing crisis is pushing the townsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒榟idden homelesssa国际传媒� population into the forefront.
Dr. Carrie Marshall said residents with nowhere else to go are seeking emergency shelter at the Tofino General Hospital.
sa国际传媒淲e have patients that come in that we are providing accommodation for, essentially, and food. Theresa国际传媒檚 no medical need. We admit them for social reasons. Theresa国际传媒檚 not a criminal element to not having a fixed address, so police donsa国际传媒檛 want to be taking them to cells,sa国际传媒� Marshall said. sa国际传媒淲e are increasingly getting more and more patients that theresa国际传媒檚 literally nowhere for them to gosa国际传媒sually they are transient, or no-fixed-address patients, that fall between the hospital and criminal cells.sa国际传媒�
Frustrations and concerns over the lack of housing in town have been a perpetual mainstay on councilsa国际传媒檚 docket and the issue was a key point of emphasis during Octobersa国际传媒檚 municipal election campaign.
Petra Hansman, a sa国际传媒渃oncerned rental citizen of Tofino,sa国际传媒� is frustrated by what she believes has been a lack of action by Tofino council to fulfill the promises made during the campaign trail.
sa国际传媒淭here has been a palatable hush over talk of creating affordable housing, I fear that district and council have lost momentum in this very important issue,sa国际传媒� she wrote.
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She suggested developers could be interested in creating housing projects, but council sa国际传媒渘eeds to be more flexible and create more allowancessa国际传媒� while working with developers to find solutions.
sa国际传媒淵ou as councillors and mayor were employed by the townspeople to alleviate this issue. Our town is desperate for solutions and shovels in the ground today. Itsa国际传媒檚 time for investments made and solutions implemented. Please act before our gross population moves to Ucluelet and beyond. Enough is enough,sa国际传媒� she wrote.
Tofino mayor Josie Osborne told the Westerly News that the district conducted a housing needs assessment in 2015 that highlighted a significant need for housing, but did not quantify or describe in detail the gap of suitable housing for the communitysa国际传媒檚 most vulnerable residents.
sa国际传媒淯ntil Dr. Marshall reported to us in the council meeting, I did not know that the hospital has admitted people overnight so that they have a place to staysa国际传媒攑resumably a safe, warm and dry place to sleep,sa国际传媒� she said.
sa国际传媒淒r. Marshall has highlighted an absolutely critical need that clearly must be addressed but, for me, this news also indicates the need to build more awareness and dialogue about the issue of homelessness and sa国际传媒榣iving roughsa国际传媒� on the West Coast, an issue that is practically invisible to mainstream society.sa国际传媒�
She said Tofinosa国际传媒檚 housing shortage is well known and is impacting distinct segments of the townsa国际传媒檚 population in different ways.
sa国际传媒淪ome people can afford market rents or mortgages, but they simply cannot find a place to rent or a home to buy. Many, many, others simply do not make enough income to afford market rents and mortgagessa国际传媒攕hould they be so fortunate as to even find a vacancy or a home for sale,sa国际传媒� she said.
sa国际传媒淭his group is often called the sa国际传媒榤issing middlesa国际传媒� and is likely the gap that is affecting local businesses and Tofinosa国际传媒檚 economy the most.sa国际传媒�
She added the townsa国际传媒檚 most vulnerable residents need sa国际传媒渄eeply subsidizedsa国际传媒� housing, of which there is little in Tofino.
sa国际传媒淲e need to fill the housing gaps at all levels, but there are different strategies and partnerships needed for each type of housing,sa国际传媒� she said.
She said council is working on creating sa国际传媒渢he best conditions possiblesa国际传媒� for affordable housing development through local government tools, like zoning, allowing increased density and removing minimum home sizes.
She added council is also lobbying the provincial and federal governments for desperately needed funding and policy changes and suggested Tofinosa国际传媒檚 was a key voice in the provincesa国际传媒檚 decision to allow taxes collected by AirBnB rentals to go towards affordable housing initiatives last fall.
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sa国际传媒淎 third category of action is actually building housing and, while that is relatively rare for a B.C. municipality, we are in the thick of it with the Tofino Bible Fellowship and the Tofino Housing Corporation preparing for a new residential neighbourhood on DL 114,sa国际传媒� she said, referring to the districtsa国际传媒檚 collaborative project to create 50 new housing units, which received $500,000 from the provincial government last March.
She added Tofino could also look into potential taxes being used in other municipalities,
sa国际传媒淟ike the vacancy tax in Vancouver and the so-called speculation tax,sa国际传媒� she suggested. sa国际传媒淭hese taxes are controversial, but should we be considering them in Tofino to help cool market prices or to at least add extra funding to our affordable housing reserve?sa国际传媒�
She cautioned the community against expecting affordable rentals and homes to spring up in short order.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檇 like the public to understand that as frustrating as it is that things move slowly, it helps to ask questions, listen to Council, staff and developers and try to understand the trade-offs and compromises that we consider when we make decisions about housing.
sa国际传媒淚t took decades for B.C. to get into this serious affordable housing [crisis], and we wonsa国际传媒檛 be able to solve it overnight,sa国际传媒� she said.
sa国际传媒淭here is no single sa国际传媒榖est waysa国际传媒� to tackle Tofinosa国际传媒檚 housing issue, rather itsa国际传媒檚 a combination of many thingssa国际传媒攆rom increasing supply directly through the Tofino Housing Corporation and indirectly with willing developers, moderating the need for new staff accommodation by carefully considering any new commercial development, lobbying the provincial and federal governments for funding and policy changes, to enforcing and reviewing short-term rental rules, to using zoning tools to create better conditions for affordable housing.sa国际传媒�
She added that sa国际传媒渦nless we are willing to compromise on density, parking requirements, and setbacks,sa国际传媒� the cost of land, building materials, labour and service infrastructure will continue to push sa国际传媒渆ven modestly sized and appointed homessa国际传媒� out of the financial reach of average Tofitians.
sa国际传媒淚f we truly want people of all income levels and stations in life to have dignified, affordable and adequate housing, there is likely no possible way to build affordable housing without increasing density in ways that Tofino is not entirely comfortable with. This is not easy for people to understand and accept, and I had to learn a lot about the true costs of development before I realized and accepted it myself,sa国际传媒� she said.
sa国际传媒淪uch changes will change the rural nature and feel of some streets and sites, but we are quickly approaching a point where we have to live with change in the community we love so we can support the people who make this such a great place to live.sa国际传媒�
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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