Banff Housing Corporation is out of the development business and the Town of Banff is taking over.
The mandate of the BHC, created in 1993 as a not-for-profit developer, has been dramatically scaled back to include management of its existing housing portfolio at Middle Springs and downtown Banff, and perhaps overseeing future rental properties.
The Town of Banff is taking over any future housing developments, including the development of three lots on Banff Avenue purchased by BHC, as well as government relations and long-term housing planning.
Politicians say the reason for the big change in mandate is because decisions on housing, which has become a critical issue in the tourism-based town, need to be made by elected officials, not a volunteer board.
“It’s no big surprise that housing has always been a very challenging issue, but in the last couple of years it has really risen up to a really critical priority,” said Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen.
“With the importance of decisions moving forward, whether it’s funding, buying property, developing, advocating to the province or working with Parks Canada to create real solutions, I believe that is the Town’s role.”
Since 1993, BHC’s focus has been to provide below market housing for home ownership by developing lands within the townsite boundary and offering them via sub-lease. Two different models have been used to maintain value pricing – equity share and price restricted.
The corporation has developed 173 family homes in the Middle Springs area, of which 45 have legal suites. The existing portfolio also includes 10 apartment-style condominium units in the downtown core and two downtown rental apartments.
Earlier this year, council, acting as shareholders of BHC, advised that a housing development on the 300 block of Banff Avenue by the high school is paramount. It was decided the Town would take over the administration and execution of that development process.
Sorensen said the intention is to begin building on the Banff Avenue lots next summer.
The zoning for those lots allows for high-density apartment buildings, but the mayor said a final decision on the type of housing has not been made yet.
“But it would be remiss not to mention rental for entry-level level housing is a big part of where we are at,” said Sorensen.
Through the years, BHC has been swept up in controversy, from the early days in the 1990s over the priority points system to get people into homes, to a 2009 mandate review that recommended a price restriction be put in place on the future resale of existing homes.
A new housing strategy for the Town of Banff, which was adopted Monday (Oct. 27) by council as a guide for future decision-making on housing issues, recommends growing BHC as a rental provider.
The BHC board of directors still exists, however, there are no longer any council representatives on the board because of the mandate change.
Ladd Snowsell, chairman of the BHC board of directors, said it is possible BHC may end up being responsible for managing future rental properties to be acquired or developed.
“If the opportunity arises to build rental units, and if the Town was one to build them, it would likely be an option for discussion for the Banff Housing Corporation to manage such units,” he said.
“This is all part of a higher priority and a more intensive global perspective on housing. The BHC addressed quite adequately the home ownership scenario in a difficult market, and now the focus is on the rental and looking at housing holistically.”
BHC was never taxpayer funded, until 2013, when council decided to contribute $39,000 a year for three years, based on the work the corporation was doing that benefited the entire community, not just BHC homeowners.
“When push came to shove, council believed the $40,000 was a token amount for the work they were doing for improving the community as a whole,” said Sorensen.
Longtime BHC chief administrative officer Dougal Forteath handed in his resignation in May and the Town of Banff recently hired a new part-time administrator, Liz Hogg, who will work about 20 to 25 hours a week to reflect BHC’s reduced role.
Hogg said she has lived in the Bow Valley for about 15 years, and while she has never had a problem finding appropriate housing, her friends and people she works with have.
“The mandate coming from everybody, including Parks Canada, is to get more visitors, and we need staff and staff need a place to live,” said Hogg.
“Even though the mandate of the housing corporation is changing, the ideals behind the housing corporation are still very much the same, and it’s really exciting to be a part of what is going to be evolving, helping all kinds of people find a place to live and make Banff home.”
