The District of Saanich currently has a lot of ‘irons in the fire’ when it comes to affordable housing, despite the high rent costs of new-build developments such as University Heights.
In late July, the new University Heights development caught the attention of media outlets in Victoria when they started accepting applications for prospective renters.
The units, which range between around 350 and 900 square feet, cost between $1,800 to $2,000 for a studio, $2,300 to $2,800 for a one-bedroom and $3,300 to $3,700 for a two-bedroom.
According to the latest rent report from Zumper, the average cost of a one-bedroom unit in the Victoria region is around $2,150 and the average two-bedroom unit costs $2,790.
Though the units at University Heights are markedly higher than the norm, Saanich Councillor Teale Phelps Bondaroff says that developments like this are an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to bringing the cost of housing down.
Saanich’s current housing landscape
Phelps Bondaroff says that as per the latest data, in 2019, the vacancy rate was 0.9%. In 2022, this figure rose to 1.5%, but this is still critically low. A healthy rate is around 3% to 5%.
“A risk that you have when that rate gets low is it puts renters in a very vulnerable position,” Phelps Bondaroff told Victoria Buzz.
“Renters will then take whatever they can access and it could lead to unsafe or unsuitable renting options and that can be very worrying.”
In the latest District of Saanich Housing Needs Report, it was determined that 32% of renter households do not meet the threshold for affordable housing standards, which is 30% of income being spent on housing costs.
This means that nearly a third of Saanich renters are spending more than they can afford on housing.
With this data in mind, Phelps Bondaroff says that first and foremost, Saanich needs more affordable housing; but additionally, there needs to be more housing built in general, of all types and for all needs. This is the need that the University Heights development will help to fill.
“Some people are just looking for a nice apartment that they can live in and those folks need apartments as well. So when you have more housing on the market, it does reduce the rates,” he added.
Additionally, though it may not seem like it when looking at the cost of a University Heights apartment, they are contributing to the District and to below market housing.
CACs and DCCs
Community Amenity Contributions (CACs) and Development Cost Charges (DCCs) are ways that Saanich can manage growth and development and ensure that new developments contribute to the community.
DCCs are mandatory fees developers pay to fund infrastructure like transportation, sewer, drainage and parks.
Meanwhile, CACs are contributions negotiated between the municipality and developer during rezoning, used to fund amenities not covered by DCCs, including community facilities or affordable housing.
Though the University Heights development was approved before the District of Saanich passed a new Community Amenity Contribution and Inclusionary Housing Policy—which aims to garner more from developers—the developer still agreed to several amenities.
Some of these are:
- 60 dedicated affordable housing units, at 10% below market rents
- A minimum of 3,500 square foot daycare space to be used for a period of two years following occupancy
- A commitment of $500,000 worth of Public Art
- A contribution of $500,000 to the Affordable Housing fund
The new Community Amenity Contribution and Inclusionary Housing Policy, passed after University Heights was approved, has the District negotiate CACs, DCCs and affordable housing numbers on a case-by-case basis with developments over 350 units.
“Basically, that’s a conversation between the district, our staff and the developer, where we ask ‘are you looking at paying more in CACs or in providing us with a certain amount of affordable units,’” said Phelps Bondaroff.
For comparison, the City of Victoria has a policy in place where any developments over 60 units, must dedicate 20% of those units as below market housing for a certain amount of time.
Affordable Housing Reserve Fund
The Affordable Housing Reserve Fund is part of what new developments contribute to in CACs when they go through the rezoning process with the district.
This fund is what University Heights contributed $500,000 towards when they had their development approved.
Phelps Bondaroff says that there were five affordable housing projects approved just last year alone through this fund, to the tune of $713,000.
This initiative helps by putting money in the pockets of affordable housing developers before a project breaks ground, rather than once they get occupancy.
“One of the challenges we found with a lot of affordable housing projects was that they get their money afterward, when the project is done, but that doesn’t help them get the project off the ground,” he explained.
“It puts a lot of onus on [affordable housing] providers to put up the money up front, which they often don’t have and so the Affordable Housing Reserve Fund is sort of there to help get projects going and kickstart them.”
Housing as a human right
Another avenue that Phelps Bondaroff is particularly passionate about is advocacy to the BC government on behalf of the District.
He says that one method of proven advocacy work is done through the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), who are a collective of representatives from municipal governments throughout BC that bring issues to the Province collectively, ensuring their voices are heard.
“A lot of times we identify a challenge in Saanich, but that’s a challenge that other jurisdictions also face,” Phelps Bondaroff told Victoria Buzz.
This September, the UBCM is holding a convention in Victoria. At that event, Phelps Bondaroff, through the District of Saanich, is going to bring several resolutions to the table—one being to have the Province shift their outlook to approach housing as a human right in all endeavors.
“The idea is that when you understand housing as a human right, it reframes how you look at the issue,” Phelps Bondaroff explained.
“Rather than prioritizing profit and money-making ability of properties, you’re actually focussed on serving the needs of people who need housing the most.”
He added that this resolution would represent a foundational shift, so at this time it’s hard to predict how this would translate into tangible policies within the BC government and within BC’s municipalities.
However, this would mirror the federal government’s shift to recognizing housing as a human right, as well as numerous other provinces.
“It would really add motivation. Basically when something is nice to have, governments can work on it; but when it’s a fundamental right, governments must work on it. So it ensures that governments are focussed and dedicated to providing actual affordable housing for folks.”
This resolution has now been endorsed by 10 other municipalities, including Burnaby, Langford, Langley, Nanaimo, North Vancouver, Port Moody, Richmond, Saanich, Vancouver and Victoria.
Other affordable housing developments
The Nellie McClung Library, which is less than two kilometres from the University Heights development, will have a total of 210 units, all of which are marked for affordable housing, to be run by the Capital Region Housing Corporation.
“Who wouldn’t want to live above a library?” asked Phelps Bondaroff.
He added that all 210 units will have varying degrees of affordability to keep from gatekeeping those who fall between the cracks with some affordable housing thresholds.
Additionally, the Aboriginal Land Trust Society is building a six-storey, 104 unit dedicated-affordable housing development.
This project was fast-tracked through Saanich’s non-market housing policy and is being funded in collaboration with the BC Housing Indigenous Housing Fund.
Initiatives that may help affordability
One endeavour the District has successfully implemented is the Rapid Deployment of Non-Market Housing Program.
This essentially allows eligible non-market affordable housing projects to build to the upper limits of the Official Community Plan (OCP), without the need to rezone.
“What that means is, if you’re building a project along a corridor and the OCP says eight storeys, that non-market housing provider can build there without the need to rezone, even if the property was only zoned for a single-family home,” Phelps Bondaroff explained.
“That’s super useful because that rezoning process takes time, and that time that it takes, costs money, which is a huge concern for developers.”
Furthermore, through this program, the District of Saanich council has delegated a lot of approval powers to staff, which expedites the process of building affordable homes.
There’s another initiative, which is still in the works, but it would allow developers a bit more leeway when they want to build higher than a property’s zoning allows.
In an earlier version of the draft Quadra McKenzie Plan, a draft policy was created that would help with density bonusing in an effort to help build community and allow more units to be built.
“The idea was that if a property is zoned for six storeys, but a developer wants eight, then we negotiate that on the main floor, they give the District a child care space, or maybe on the main floor they give us a doctor’s office,” said Phelps Bondaroff.
He added that the same negotiations could be used to achieve a floor’s worth of affordable units.
Though this appendix was removed from the plan, District staff has been tasked with further exploring this plan’s possible implementation.
Province of BC mandated housing targets
Currently, the District of Saanich is behind schedule on the BC government’s mandated housing targets.
The mandate calls on specific municipalities with critically low vacancy rates to complete a certain number of completed housing units within five years.
Between 2023 and 2028, the District has to build 4,610 units.
Saanich broke this down into yearly targets, and for the first year, missed the mark. The target was set at 440, but only 338 were completed.
Despite this slight shortcoming, Phelps Bondaroff is confident that by the end of the five years, the District will be able to meet the Province’s expectations.
