The Banff Housing Corporation is still keen on doing a housing needs study to help determine the future direction of below market housing in the tourist town – but it wants to find out the price tag first.
Council turned down BHC’s request for $70,000 to fund a housing study during 2012 budget deliberations, but the BHC board is hoping to do a smaller-scale study to benefit BHC and the Town of Banff as a whole.
Officials with the board of directors say the study is by no means a done deal, but the draft terms of reference has been significantly trimmed down from the original proposal in the hope it will bring the price tag down.
Councillor Paul Baxter, chairman of BHC’s board, said the board wants to do a housing needs study because there are so many different and contradictory opinions on what the housing issues are in Banff.
“I believe the board would like a professional opinion as to what we should do and this is more urgent right now because opportunities for development are diminishing quickly,” he said.
“We have two or three potential areas to develop, so we have to make sure we are doing what would be most effective in the long-term. I have an opinion of what I think is needed right now, but what is needed in 10 years, I don’t know.”
The project objective is to identify housing needs in the Town of Banff for the next decade, complete an affordability analysis and identify gaps that may exist between housing supply and demand.
The RFP will list high and medium priorities that could be considered in a housing needs study.
Some of the high priorities for the board include determining whether Banff’s existing housing meets the needs of the current population, and whether there is currently an over-supply or under-supply.
Keeping in mind the Town’s finite limits to growth, the board also wants to know the number and type of housing units that would be needed to meet the town’s population growth from 2012 to 2022.
The board wants to find out what residents can afford to pay for housing. This analysis should include a breakdown of what sectors make up the total workforce in Banff. It also wants an affordability analysis by comparing this to the costs of homeownership and rental in Banff.
Using the affordability analysis and population projections in the next decade, the board wants to find out what demographics are having the most difficulty finding satisfactory housing given their pay, and which housing is most suitable.
The draft terms of reference for the proposed study is being circulated to the various Town of Banff departments for their review and any potential additions.
The plan is to open the Request for Proposals (RFP) process from March 19 to April 20.
“We’re not necessarily going ahead, but we’re getting an RFP to get an idea of how much it’s going to cost and see if we can afford to do this,” said Baxter.
“The BHC has some money to put towards a housing needs study; however, I would anticipate us going back to council looking for some financial support as we feel this document would not only be used by the BHC.”
