Whether considered a resort town, a rail town or an arts town, Revelstoke hasn’t escaped the housing and rental affordability crisis that’s frontline news in various countries. So, what’s a small mountain town to do when housing affordability limits human resources and fuels frustration?
“This is a problem over a decade in the making,” Revelstoke Community Housing Society (RCHS) co-chair Mike Brooks-Hill told Revelstoke Mountaineer. “We’re not going to snap our fingers and wow, the housing crisis is fixed. We’re doing the right things, but it’s going to take a while.”
RCHS began as a committee of residents advising city council on possible housing strategies in 2007. By January 2017, the group broke from the city and became an independent non-profit focusing on secure and affordable housing options. The organization now works with municipal, provincial and federal resources to push for more affordable housing in Revelstoke.
A collection of delays
When RCHS went independent, many things in the city were at a standstill, Brooks-Hill explained. High city staff turnover put various projects in limbo and stalled numerous permits and grants. But provincially and federally, the housing crisis wasn’t quite as large on the radar just yet, and support from those branches wasn’t available.
“You could say we weren’t getting anywhere with the city, but we weren’t necessarily missing that many opportunities,” he said.
Since then, RCHS has been able to partner with BC Housing, take ownership of the BC Hydro Oscar Street townhomes and acquire funds through the Columbia Basin Trust to jump-start other projects. RCHS is still massively behind where they want to be, Brooks-Hill explained, but momentum is growing with a total of 38 units in their repository.
“At the end of the day, I think we’re all focused on the same goal.”
How is affordability determined?
RCHS’ current rental stock includes the Bridge Creek apartment complex, marketed as affordable housing with rent at $1150 per month plus utilities for one bedroom units. BC Housing supported the project by covering a majority of the construction costs and the City of Revelstoke leased the land to RCHS for $1 a year. Units are not pet friendly unless registered as a service animal and acceptance is capped based on income, a model that works to keep rent in the encouraged 30 per cent of a household’s total costs.
That income cap was a barrier to getting units filled initially according to Brooks-Hill. The income requirements for all occupants of a unit is a collective $39,000 to $77,430, meaning many couples who together made just over that $77,430 were not eligible.
The Oscar Street townhomes and Oscar Duplex were also originally rented based on income. While some tenants within RCHS’ agreements are still on that model, Brooks-Hill said they are working to move away from it. Continually needing to check renter incomes and alter prices based on fluctuation is a stressor neither RCHS or renters want to deal with.
“It’s hard to chat with a client and go congrats, you’ve got this great job! Well, now your rent goes up $300 a month.”
Alternative resources
There is a page on RCHS’ website dedicated to alternative housing solutions, including tiny homes, auxiliary dwelling units, co-operative housing and more. Some of those options are in the works, with recent provincial legislature opening the doors for more auxiliary dwelling units such as carriage homes and laneway housing.
“That one excites me especially,” Brooks-Hill said. “I think that’s going to be one more step in easing things.”
Previous plans for a tiny home village in Revelstoke have stalled, and Brooks-Hill said the units still fall into too many grey areas within bylaw regulations. But he’s hopeful enough groundwork was done that it will ease the process if and when someone else takes on the project.
Other options Brooks-Hill said are being discussed include co-operative housing, or a group collectively buying shares of a house. These are currently not an option in Revelstoke, but could have legs as Revelstoke continues to grow.
“Really, whatever option gets more housing into Revelstoke’s market I think needs to be on the table.”
Future plans
If Brooks-Hill had all the resources and tricks available, what would he want to see done differently when it comes to housing affordability in Revelstoke?
“Go back in time ten years and start doing what we’re doing now.”
Time travel aside, Brooks-Hill said the best action is to continue making partnerships with other organizations in town and trying to find the next project to take on.
“The city’s been extremely good about keeping our board informed about what’s going on with housing related issues.”
That includes the 420 Downie St. project with BC Housing, which purchased the property with a goal of creating affordable housing. RCHS has put in applications to be the community partner for the project.
With 420 Downie St. still in planning phases, new short-term rental regulations on the horizon and housing projects around Revelstoke in the works, Brooks-Hill is hopeful that Revelstoke will find its way out of the housing crisis, but acknowledged it won’t happen overnight.
“I am more hopeful right now than I have been in the last five or six years.”
This story was originally featured in the April print edition of Revelstoke Mountaineer.
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