The Capital Regional District (CRD) has approved borrowing $85 million for the purchase of land intended for affordable housing.
The CRD board approved the bylaw to authorize borrowing the $85 million on September 13th, and the final decision was left in the electors’ hands, through a regional Alternative Approval Process (AAP).
The APP gives the CRD a different avenue for approval, rather than holding an expensive and sometimes unnecessary referendum.
In accordance with the alternative approval process, a minimum of 10 percent of electors, which amounted to 33,191 individuals, were required to register their opposition by submitting forms to oppose the borrowing plan.
By the end of the voting period, a total of 1,859 forms from electors were submitted.
“I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who showed interest in the AAP. This approach has allowed us to secure approval from electors in a more cost-effective manner compared to a referendum, while still offering individual residents the option to formally register opposition directly with the CRD,” said Colin Plant, CRD Board Chair.
“With the successful completion of the AAP, we are pleased to be able to adopt this bylaw, which is part of the CRD’s commitment to increase the supply of affordable, inclusive, and adequate housing in the region.”
The money borrowed will be used to improve affordable, inclusive, and adequate housing across the region and will be repaid over a maximum of 30 years.
The CRD said they will not incur any debt until funding is approved for a specific project or through an annual planning approval process.
“The housing crisis is real for residents of the region, which is why the CRD has identified housing affordability as one of its top strategic priorities,” said Capital Region Housing Corporation (CRHC) Chair Zac de Vries.
“Increasing our borrowing capacity in this manner signals our capacity to invest into potential partnerships, demonstrates an enhanced commitment to addressing housing need, and will provide staff the ability to pursue prospective partners with the opportunity to leverage and layer funds to achieve a greater impact than would otherwise be possible.”
The CRHC currently operates a total of 52 buildings that hold over 2,000 housing units and serve to house over 4,000 people.
What are your thoughts, are you in support of this $85 million endeavor?
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