Re: “Will downtown revitalization make Nelson even less affordable” (Column, April 26)
This is my answer to John Paolozzi’s question.
As you know John, I am the councilor who chairs Nelson’s Housing Committee and you are a sitting member of that committee. To put forth a premise that developing a plan such as the Urban Design Strategy or the Railtown Sustainable Neighourhood Plan has pushed the conversation of affordable housing off the table could not be further from the truth. In fact on a ten-year outlook, Railtown could create as many as 100 new jobs and see up to 11 acres of light industrial development, 100 residential units and 20,000 square feet of retail space.
A big part of housing affordability is about availability. Nelson is a great community and an attractive place to live. The demand to live in Nelson has resulted in a very low residential rental vacancy rate. I would add that the demand for housing in Nelson has also resulted in a hot real estate market with very few properties being offered for sale and those that are listed, selling very quickly for full price and sometimes over asking.
City council is committed to consulting stakeholders, residents and business owners. The city has done this in the past and will continue to do so as strategies and plans move from the collecting and sharing of ideas to project stage. We need plans to ensure our city is proactive in addressing aging infrastructure rather than waiting until we have a crisis.
Nelson has a large number of affordable housing units relative to our overall housing stock, unfortunately there is not enough, just as there is not enough market housing or rentals that would be considered unaffordable. Having a plan that includes replacing aging infrastructure ensures we can service the needs of more residential units in the future.
While building infrastructure to support housing is important we must balance these investments with economic development, business and revenue growth opportunities so that we can pay for the upgrades. It is also important to note that without plans there is no grant funding from provincial or federal levels of government. Also important to note, the affordable housing crisis is not exclusive to Nelson rather it is an issue across the province and the country and has been a growing concern for more than twenty years.
It will take cooperation and collaboration with all levels of government to create enough affordable housing for all Canadians. In summary, no, John, revitalization of Nelson’s downtown will not make Nelson more unaffordable. It will ensure we can continue to be a community that provides the foundational services to grow our capacity to support mixed use in neighbourhoods which will include art studios, local small businesses and all types of housing including market priced, affordable and subsidized units.
Michael Dailly
Councillor
City of Nelson