AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROMISES TO BE A MAJOR ISSUE IN TOWN
(OSOYOOS TIMES — Nov. 29, 2006) —
One of the most pressing issues Town Council will face in the coming years will no doubt be how to ensure some amount of affordable housing in Osoyoos for medium or lower income people.
This was brought home by a couple of developments this past week.
First, Regional District Area 'A' Director Mark Pendergraft told mobile home owners who face losing their spots at Willow Beach that he will fight for some compensation for the value of their homes. Given that the home owners pay property taxes on a much higher assessed value for their mobile homes than the actual value they can get when evicted, they have a case, and we hope Pendergraft has some luck.
Second, Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed came here with a message that towns have the power to aggressively plan their futures, and they have more pull with developers than they think. In Whistler's case, Melamed says, this means Council there has leveraged substantial help on the affordable housing front from developers.
The upshot is that if booming communities like Osoyoos are to be able to offer affordable living to those who we want to come here to work in our services and businesses, our leaders must work hard to foster conditions that will help make that happen.
