White Rock council has taken steps to lock in an "affordable housing" component for a contentious rental apartment building proposed for Thrift Avenue and Vidal Street.
At the Monday meeting (July 29), councillors approved first, second and third readings of a housing agreement for the land parcel, technically described as 1441 Vidal St. The project proposed for the property is a six-storey, 139-unit rental apartment building.
The development, originally applied for in 2019 by the WestStone Group 鈥� at which time it was a four-storey, 82-unit rental building 鈥� was turned down on first readings by the previous council in 2021.
The subject of considerable push-back from neighbouring residents in various iterations, it came before the current council and received third reading on June 26, 2023, subject to a list of conditions 鈥� including the affordable housing option.
The agreement bylaw, and associated covenant, are designed to secure all 139 units as "market rental" for the life of the building, including establishing 14 of them as rent-controlled units for 15 years.
According to a report to council from planning and development services director Anne Berry, once finally approved, and filed with the land title office, the agreement will be binding on all subsequent owners of the property.
As Berry pointed out, the housing agreement is only one of 11 conditions placed on the project when third reading was given. Other conditions set by the city include updated landscaping plans, a works and servicing agreement, a road dedication, a tree protection and retention covenant, and the registration of a statutory right-of-way for community urban park space.
"If the (agreement) is approved, ... the decision does not signify that the overall rezoning application for the proposed development has been approved," she noted in her written report.
"(The developers) are obligated to meet this, in addition to all the other conditions, in order for the zoning bylaw to come back to council," Berry added in her verbal report. "At this time they are still working to complete the other agreements."
The agreement was one of the factors in granting a bonus density of 139 units (the base density for the proposed rezoning is 70 units) 鈥� along with a $604,715 community amenity contribution from the developer.
Rent-controlled units would be rented to "income-tested tenants," Berry said, and rents would be tied to the average for the unit type in White Rock, set at 20 per cent below the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation's current rental market surveys.
Although, after 15 years, there will be no maximum limit to potential rents, "priority tenants" 鈥� defined as those in a household in which all residents are 65 years and older "at the risk of housing insecurity" 鈥� would be able, under the agreement, to stay on at the permitted rent for the life of the building.
"That doesn't mean that person living in the unit is forced to vacate the unit 鈥� they still have the right to live there," Berry explained in answer to questions from Coun. Christopher Trevelyan. "The rent increase would continue at the same ratio (as it was at) the rent-controlled unit."
In response to a question from Coun. Ernie Klassen, Berry said maximum annual income level for "income-tested tenants," based on the CMHC's 2021 survey, would be set at $58,400, although this will likely change depending on the results of the next survey.
"It seems a little high, that somebody making $60,000 鈥� when there's a lot of people, basically, surviving on minimum wage 鈥� that they would qualify for the below market value housing," Klassen said.
Berry said White Rock's OCP policy language is based on CMHC data. "Whatever is the most recent data ...i s what we would be relying on."
Mayor Megan Knight noted, however, that the income for eligibility is "household income, it's not just one person making that 鈥� it could be two people making $30,000 each or something like that."
