Pemberton Housing Action Project

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Pemberton residents have told us that housing choices and affordability continue to be one of the top three challenges in our community. Our recent housing needs study underscores these challenges, revealing a need for approximately 850 units over the next five years to meet both current and future demands. Further, the provincial government is requiring all communities with populations of more than 5000 to allow up to four units in all single-family lots; Pemberton will reach this threshold within five years at its current rate of growth.

In line with our Council’s Strategic Plan priorities to Plan and Manage Growth effectively and foster a community where residents thrive, we are committed to developing a diverse range of housing options that support our residents’ needs. To address these challenges and achieve our vision of providing affordable housing that meets our community needs, the Village of Pemberton is launching the Pemberton Housing Action Project. This project includes several related housing initiatives that will increase housing supply and diversity in the community.


Project Overview

The Village of Pemberton has received federal and provincial funding to tackle our housing challenges through these four interconnected and concurrent housing initiatives:

  1. A housing strategy to identify gaps in housing supply and best approaches to meet the priority housing needs of the community.
  2. Pre-zoning initiatives, which will reduce zoning barriers and allow higher density developments in Downtown and the Gateway area (which was supported through the Official Community Plan (OCP) community engagement process).
  3. Housing incentives to encourage property owners to add new “missing middle” housing units (e.g., secondary suites and duplexes) or bring their existing housing units to code.

These initiatives are estimated to permit nearly 100 new housing units above the average rate of development over the next three years. The Village has received the first installment from the Housing Accelerator Fund that, if all initiatives are completed and the new housing units are granted building permits, will lead to a potential for more than $2.7 million grant funding to invest in housing, housing-related infrastructure, and other community services that support housing.

The Village has contracted WCS Engagement + Planning to guide the Housing Action Project.


Project Update (August 1, 2024)

Our Housing Action Project is moving full-steam ahead as we’ve completed our first phase: Preparation, Research and Initial Input. Here is a summary of the work to date; please see the Documents section on the right.

The first three initiatives – Housing Strategy, Pre-zoning Initiatives and Housing Incentives – are completely focused on addressing our housing challenges and on enabling the delivery of more housing. We have completed the background research for these three components and have completed the following work, which can be found in the Documents section:

  • Technical memos: These summarize the research of housing initiatives implemented in other similar communities and preliminary recommendations to include in the strategies and policies.

  • Committee of the Whole Meeting. Consultants presented the findings from the technical memos to Council on July 9.

  • A summary of local government housing development tools. This is a summary of potential tools that a local government can use, and that the Village may consider in its Housing Strategy and future actions.

Council Approves 2024 Purpose-Built Rental Incentive Program

On July 23, 2024, Pemberton Council approved a set of incentives to encourage and facilitate the development of purpose-built rental housing in the Village. The program gives direction for pre-zoning areas in Downtown and the Gateway for multi-family rental development and co-housing as forms of purpose-built rentals in all residential neighbourhoods. The proposed zoning amendments will also consider reductions in parking requirements for purpose-built rental developments. Further incentives include fast-tracking applications and adding provisions where eligible developments could be considered for fee waivers or fee reductions. More details on the approved purpose-built rental incentive program can be found in the link below:

2024 Purpose-Built Rental Incentive Program


Community Engagement

The consultant team is drafting the Housing Strategy and the policies and bylaws for the Pre-Zoning Initiative and Housing Incentives. These drafts will all be presented at a community Open House on October 7th, and at other engagement events this fall where we will be seeking community input.

If you have any questions about the Housing Action Project so far, please submit a question and Village staff will get back to you as soon as possible.

Pemberton residents have told us that housing choices and affordability continue to be one of the top three challenges in our community. Our recent housing needs study underscores these challenges, revealing a need for approximately 850 units over the next five years to meet both current and future demands. Further, the provincial government is requiring all communities with populations of more than 5000 to allow up to four units in all single-family lots; Pemberton will reach this threshold within five years at its current rate of growth.

In line with our Council’s Strategic Plan priorities to Plan and Manage Growth effectively and foster a community where residents thrive, we are committed to developing a diverse range of housing options that support our residents’ needs. To address these challenges and achieve our vision of providing affordable housing that meets our community needs, the Village of Pemberton is launching the Pemberton Housing Action Project. This project includes several related housing initiatives that will increase housing supply and diversity in the community.


Project Overview

The Village of Pemberton has received federal and provincial funding to tackle our housing challenges through these four interconnected and concurrent housing initiatives:

  1. A housing strategy to identify gaps in housing supply and best approaches to meet the priority housing needs of the community.
  2. Pre-zoning initiatives, which will reduce zoning barriers and allow higher density developments in Downtown and the Gateway area (which was supported through the Official Community Plan (OCP) community engagement process).
  3. Housing incentives to encourage property owners to add new “missing middle” housing units (e.g., secondary suites and duplexes) or bring their existing housing units to code.

These initiatives are estimated to permit nearly 100 new housing units above the average rate of development over the next three years. The Village has received the first installment from the Housing Accelerator Fund that, if all initiatives are completed and the new housing units are granted building permits, will lead to a potential for more than $2.7 million grant funding to invest in housing, housing-related infrastructure, and other community services that support housing.

The Village has contracted WCS Engagement + Planning to guide the Housing Action Project.


Project Update (August 1, 2024)

Our Housing Action Project is moving full-steam ahead as we’ve completed our first phase: Preparation, Research and Initial Input. Here is a summary of the work to date; please see the Documents section on the right.

The first three initiatives – Housing Strategy, Pre-zoning Initiatives and Housing Incentives – are completely focused on addressing our housing challenges and on enabling the delivery of more housing. We have completed the background research for these three components and have completed the following work, which can be found in the Documents section:

  • Technical memos: These summarize the research of housing initiatives implemented in other similar communities and preliminary recommendations to include in the strategies and policies.

  • Committee of the Whole Meeting. Consultants presented the findings from the technical memos to Council on July 9.

  • A summary of local government housing development tools. This is a summary of potential tools that a local government can use, and that the Village may consider in its Housing Strategy and future actions.

Council Approves 2024 Purpose-Built Rental Incentive Program

On July 23, 2024, Pemberton Council approved a set of incentives to encourage and facilitate the development of purpose-built rental housing in the Village. The program gives direction for pre-zoning areas in Downtown and the Gateway for multi-family rental development and co-housing as forms of purpose-built rentals in all residential neighbourhoods. The proposed zoning amendments will also consider reductions in parking requirements for purpose-built rental developments. Further incentives include fast-tracking applications and adding provisions where eligible developments could be considered for fee waivers or fee reductions. More details on the approved purpose-built rental incentive program can be found in the link below:

2024 Purpose-Built Rental Incentive Program


Community Engagement

The consultant team is drafting the Housing Strategy and the policies and bylaws for the Pre-Zoning Initiative and Housing Incentives. These drafts will all be presented at a community Open House on October 7th, and at other engagement events this fall where we will be seeking community input.

If you have any questions about the Housing Action Project so far, please submit a question and Village staff will get back to you as soon as possible.

Questions?

Ask us anything about the project and we will respond in approximately 3 business days. 

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Page last updated: 04 Sep 2024, 04:50 PM