It won’t make much difference this summer, but the Town of Canmore’s incentive program for suite creation should be lauded.
The incentive program, while not one of massive scale or monumental dollars ($50,000), should at least have the effect of coaxing some homeowners to consider adding a suite and, in so doing, helping alleviate the housing crunch which one hears about almost weekly.
Additionally, being that Canmore is an expensive place to live (sorry, we’re pointing out the blatantly obvious here) the benefit of adding suites as mortgage helpers should not be overlooked.
Possibly the most important thing about the Town of Canmore moving ahead with a suite incentive program is that it keeps the issue of affordable housing in the forefront of municipal happenings.
A side benefit is that homeowners taking part in the program will also be creating suites that are to code; leaving renters secure in the knowledge that there is reliable egress and smoke alarms, etc., in the event of an emergency.
Keeping affordable housing on the front burner is important as, after many years of very little being done to address the situation, both Banff and Canmore, as municipalities, are trying, despite opposition at almost every turn, to see affordable housing created as a means of ensuring these communities are communities for everyone.
For some time, in this space, we’ve suggested the affordable housing crunch wouldn’t be alleviated without our municipal governments themselves taking steps to make it happen. Being that there is little to no incentive for private developers to create affordable housing, our municipalities are on the right tack.
In the last couple of years that’s been happening as our mayors and councils have been taking it upon themselves, often under duress, to ensure housing is created.
In both of our towns, public input is being sought once again as to what kind of communities we want and how housing issues could be solved, etc. These conversations have been going around and around and around for a couple of decades now and, as stated previously, little has been done during that time.
And should the suite program be deemed a success in creating more affordable housing somewhere down the road, we feel it’s likely there could be more funds and an expansion of the program.
We realize there is an underlying belief that the sanctity of R-1 homes and neighbourhoods should be absolute, but we feel that’s no longer the reality of the situation. Being that hardly a conversation happens at the municipal level, or among many townsfolk and business owners that housing is, and will remain, the number one issue, our municipalities had little choice but to take it upon themselves to make something happen.
Then there’s the fact that flights from China to Calgary are beginning in June (page 11) and will increase tourism numbers this summer.
While an increase in tourism may be good for some businesses, along with that increase there will be the need for more staff in valley operations and, along with that, an increased need for housing for said staff.
Everything is interconnected in our valley.
