Political hopefuls in Banff’s upcoming municipal election are pitching a range of ideas on how to deal with predictions of a critical housing shortage in the tourist town over the next years.
A recent $54,250 study concluded a shortage of available and affordable rental options appears to be Banff’s most pressing housing need, noting an almost zero vacancy rate is forcing people into overcrowded and sometimes unsafe living conditions.
The assessment by Calgary-based Housing Strategies Inc. determined there’s not enough affordable rental housing, particularly for families, and an emerging undersupply of staff accommodation as Banff’s economy improves and returns to previous levels.
Candidates have different ideas on how to deal with the shortage, from acquiring land from Parks Canada to build rental housing, or building residential housing in the industrial compound, to increased density or looking to Canmore for shared solutions.
Council incumbent Brian Standish said he’d like to see the Town of Banff prepare an area redevelopment plan for the commercial services (CS) land use district.
“The industrial compound, I believe, has the most potential for creating multi-residential development,” he said.
Standish said he supports discouraging lower density residential development through two initiatives highlighted in the housing report.
“Establishing minimum density requirements rather than maximum density requirements, and exploring the legality and feasibility of establishing a graduated low-density property tax surcharge to discourage poor use of Banff’s extremely limited land base,” he said.
Council hopeful Hardi Soukup said affordable housing will always be an issue in Banff because the townsite cannot expand its boundaries.
“I know the Town is – and I absolutely encourage them and would like to be engaged in that process – trying to find affordable land at a price that will allow affordable rents,” she said.
“Negotiations or even partnering up with Parks and other land owners in town could be a solution, leading towards building affordable housing.”
Soukup said communication with private developers may find new ways of funding.
“The Town needs to step up and encourage business owners and landlords to build or renovate more adequately towards the needs, not in the interest of overcrowding and milking the renters,” she said.
Incumbent Chip Olver said meeting the housing needs of Banff residents is a challenge – housing of all types is required and the recent housing study identified rental housing in particular.
She said the Town is actively working on study recommendations through the Housing Strategy Committee, and a report dealing with a community-wide strategy to address housing issues is expected to come before council next spring.
“They are searching out best practices and looking for answers that are ‘doable’,” she said. “Recent changes in our land use bylaw allow and encourage residential development with more density, thus providing more units.”
Looking forward, Olver said council needs to respond to ideas the housing strategy committee brings forward.
“We also need to work with other orders of government because this Banff need is also a Canada-wide need and is too big to address alone,” she said.
Candidate Jeff Mitchell said the housing needs assessment has done a good job of establishing the housing shortfalls in town.
“The job of the next council will be to work to develop a solid plan that addresses these issues and implementing the best of these recommendations,” he said. “I would want to explore all of these options, including redevelopment in the industrial compound, to add affordable housing to the area.”
In addition, Mitchell said higher density, lower cost housing should be more of a priority for the Banff Housing Corporation, as well as encouraged from private developers.
“I believe adding higher-density housing would inherently open up more units that are suitable for families, addressing two concerns,” he said. “Housing has been a challenge for a long time, but there are solutions out there.”
Incumbent Stavros Karlos said housing shortages and affordability in Banff have been inextricably linked since the earliest days of the 20th century.
“We are still grappling with the same issues today: scarcity of developable land, excess demand for entry-level housing and low private sector interest in new high-density residential development,” he said. “The BHC has been successful at keeping many families in Banff offering mid-price housing; but, I believe greatest impact can be had through introduction of new rental housing.”
Karlos said past councils have already approved revisions to the land use bylaw, increasing density and enabling developers to build high-quality, eco-friendly developments.
He said negotiations with the federal government need to be re-started for a “fair deal” on remaining vacant lands within Banff.
“Build 80-100 units of entry-level rental housing in the next three to five years,” said Karlos. “Lobby for provincial support or investigate opportunities for a public-private partnership.”
Candidate Corrie DiManno said the community of Banff has struggled with affordable housing since before incorporation, forcing many families and individuals to leave Banff because they simply can’t afford to stay.
“But the fact is, there is no one solution or one decision that can be made to fix the housing problem: many steps need to be taken to help alleviate this issue,” she said.
She said council will need to pay close attention to the recommendations in the housing needs assessments in conjunction with the results of the community housing strategy.
“Then with that data, we can move forward on creating solutions to our housing issues,” she said.
Council hopeful Ted Christensen said Banff simply cannot keep building more homes.
“Our boundary is established and we are nearing buildout status,” he said. “There is a wide range of financial perspectives regarding housing affordability.”
Christensen said Town of Banff’s interests should be in monitoring, regulating and providing up to date information for stakeholders, including health department concerns, landlord tenant rules and rental rates.
“Strong links with Bow Valley Regional Housing and the transportation commission are key factors in this venture as we look to Canmore for additional housing,” he said.
Incumbent Grant Canning said housing is a major challenge in Banff and one that is unlikely to go away due to a lack of land to develop new and affordable housing units, and as a result, there is a need to better manage the existing resources.
“I support increasing density when redevelopment occurs, for example, the construction of duplexes, triplexes and apartments. We should at least consider increasing building heights and encourage the construction of secondary suites,” he said.
“We need to work with developers to ensure they provide more housing by building the appropriate level of staff accommodation, rather than using the ‘cash in lieu’ option.”
Finally, Canning said, the Town of Banff needs to work closely with regional partners to develop regional strategies and solutions.
“With 800 people commuting every day between Canmore and Banff, it makes sense to work together and consider our housing needs on a regional basis,” he said.
Incumbent Mayor Karen Sorensen said she is committed to having housing on council’s priority list this term and making firm policy decisions to assist in providing more housing to residents.
“We have taken positive steps this past term with changes to the land use bylaw, allowing for permitted increased densities, building heights and building types,” said Sorensen.
“We also rezoned the Public Service lands on the high school block to residential, which resulted in two new housing projects. The housing study will be an important tool to guide new policy initiatives and council decisions.”
Sorensen said council also created a community housing strategy committee.
“With their research and feedback I would like to develop a formal housing strategy with detailed implementation plan, in the next term,” she said.
“Some options are to explore a new category of employee housing with incentives to build, develop an inventory of available staff accommodations and explore opportunities for a regional approach to housing,” she said.
Mayoral hopeful Cynthia Anderson said from lot giveaways to lotteries, to selling homes below market rate, many efforts have been made over the years to provide residents with affordable housing.
“There is little land available left for redevelopment,” she said. “Higher density neighbourhoods are being considered. This needs careful consideration as once this happens, there will be no turning back. “
As the town continues to add to properties, Anderson said these should include affordable rental units.
“When it comes to purchasing affordable homes, we should look at the model used in Jasper for cooperative housing,” she said. “ When homeowners purchase affordable homes, and then sell, they get their investment back, but not a profit”.
Of immediate concern to Anderson is the lack of senior housing that caters to residents that require a level of care that falls between that offered at Cascade House and Saint Martha’s. “My hope is that Banff’s next council gives this issue priority,” she said.
Mayoral hopeful Jim Abelseth said the housing study is comprehensive and indicates a best-case scenario of 240 new housing units required by 2022, and a worst case scenario of 730 units required by 2022.
“Council needs to examine the recommendations in the report, and implement some, if not all, of these recommendations,” he said.
Abelseth said some of the key recommendations include development of a formal housing strategy, preparation of an area redevelopment plan for the compound, discouraging low-density development, explore relaxation of height restrictions, assist seniors with applications for provincial tax deferrals and help seniors and persons with mobility challenges with applications for federal and provincial grant money.
With regard to the BHC, he said all recommendations have merit.
“I think that one key suggestion is to increase the focus on rental housing moving forward,” he said. “Two areas of interest are the CS-zoned compound and Cave Avenue. Expanded development on Cave Avenue will require road and infrastructure renewal first.”
Ken McMurdo and Steven Fournier did not get back to the Outlook by press time.
