NEWS:
Bill Metcalfe - back from a way too long vacation and seemingly fortified by it! - has a go at the lack-of-rental-housing thing in Nelson. Finally! Someone!
Report: Nelson's rental vacancy rate is 0.7 per cent
Bill Metcalfe, Nelson Star Dec. 6, 2016
To be found on the Star's website, under NEWS.
This basic what's-what City Hall so far hasn't been able to get its head around, despite by now habitual tut-tutting over affordable-rental-housing.
In Metcalfe's article, Trevor Jenkinson, realtor and president of the Landlord Association, says "... some(?) landlords have decided to stop long-term renting and go with short-term rentals instead because of bad experiences with tenants."
Weelll - this rather sounds like a lame excuse for wanting to go Airbnb, since frequently tenants claim: what with the well-known shortage of rental-housing (possibly the same "some") landlords often don't keep properties in good repair because they've got choices!
Tenants haven't and talk about living in overpriced dumps!
With Airbnb now legitimized by City Hall, quite conceivably more long-term tenants will be eased out to enable more conversions. Since short-term renters don't have the same concerns as long-termers: give it a coat of paint, and you're off to low overhead and funny-money!
COLUMN 1:
Then - there's the mayor's oddly titled oddly disconnected
COLUMN: Nelson deserves(?!?) a full range of housing options
Deb Kozak, Nelson Star Oct. 23, 2016
On the Star's website, under OPINION.
According to Kozak, vacation rental "discourages property speculation and encourages long-term rentals(?!?). It also protects the integrity of our neighbourhoods."
Go figure!
"It is exciting to see people move into their new home at the recently completed Nelson Commons project."
"Including affordable units in future is an exciting prospect and another possibility when new projects come forward."
Aside from all the excitement she also talks "vibrancy". Kozak's perky politico-patter could be frightening: it lacks genuine community-connect.
"The next step is to attract the people working in the knowledge industry. Living in spectacular surroundings and being able to work anywhere is within reach here."
And where - precisely - will they sleep!
Nowhere in this column of bytes does Kozak present any concrete and now-doable "housing options".
Column 2:
This is by a city councillor - making little of the point he promises.
COLUMN: Affordable housing a priority
Michael Dailly, Nelson Star Nov. 4, 2016
On the Star's website, under COMMUNITY
It goes on-and-on with beside-the-point introductory pleasantries, uses lots more space on food-policy, to only then get to what it has promised as priority: affordable housing. Not making clear what affordable housing means.
Actually - I don't remember anyone here ever publicly doing so!
After starting with Canada, then moving to BC: this barely touches on specific Nelson needs - with nothing concrete and now-doable either!
Though interesting here is that with the mayor attempting to sell the City to presumably youngish people in the "knowledge sector" - Dailly identifies "... those most in need of quality, low-cost rental housing include young people..."
Ships passing in the night.
While he says "Nelson's Affordable Housing Committee, council and staff (oops, no mayor!) are working to identify more incentives that encourage purpose-built rental housing and secondary units": nowhere in these two columns does he or Kozak mention anything originated and locked-in by Council. Even though " The lack of affordable housing remains primary focus of this council."
So here is something concrete and now-doable for City Hall:
1.
Not only rework the onerous water-rates on secondary (basement) spaces more flexibly - but also offer other (financial) incentives to homeowners for doing-up their basements as rental units.
2.
Offer free know-how assistance and (financial) incentives for turning part of a single-family house into a self-contained apartment. If scaling-back alone is used as motivator by people to give-up their homes and move into a condo - what about keeping them in their homes of many years - possibly decades - while making the property more manageable in a sort-of co-op model. Overall cheaper and easier to maintain!
3.
The lane-house idea has been bandied about for years: so legitimize it already! Give (financial) incentives to homeowners for building smaller, self-contained lane-units. Today available pre-fabricated, with multi-level efficiency and reasonably priced.
City Hall's priorities are skewed. (See the recent $42.600 wasted on a new Cottonwood Market never-to-be!) It is now paying an out-of-town "consultant" who-knows-how-much for a Baker Botox plan, surely followed by predigested whatevers - none of economic benefit to Nelson proper, all as always expensive - while we should be in crisis-mode over housing more than just skin-deep!
Applying funds based on need!
It's time for Council and the mayor - as a unit! - to take willing, hands-on responsibility in this emergency. Enough already with "working to identify more incentives."
Bill Metcalfe
bill.metcalfe@nelsonstar.com
Deb Kozak
dkozak@nelson.ca
Michael Dailly
mdailly@nelson.ca
www.nelsonstar.com
Credits:
Katharina Grosse
Paul Lester
Kwaku Boateng
Galerie Koenig
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