Government must consider building affordable housing
Dear Duncan mayor and council:
We cheer council’s resolve to build affordable rental housing for seniors, working folks and students, rather than permit an unaffordable 200-unit, six-story project on Price Place.
Details appeared in the May 16, 2024 Cowichan Citizen.
Like council, we sympathize with builder Guy Bouchard facing rising labor-, material- and interest rates hampering him from building affordable units sorely needed locally.
Bouchard’s dilemma signals other developers are battling similar difficulties in building affordable housing, basically defined as costing 30 per cent of one’s gross annual income.
Before allowing more projects sporting rents unaffordable for most Cowichanians, council must solve its affordable-construction conundrum.
Help could come from employing cogent housing models already used abroad — or stiff lobbying of our provincial and federal governments to help reduce developers’ complex, ballooning building costs.
The elephant in the room says if developers cannot or will not construct critically needed affordable housing, we must mull building well-managed, affordable government housing — logically offering green-designs plus local jobs.
Roll up your selves and don your thinking caps, councillors.
Yours in affordable-housing solutions,
Peter W. Rusland
North Cowichan