On Monday, the City of Grand Forks hosted a workshop discussion with members of the community and council about affordable housing solutions in our community.
They explored how the city can better adapt its Official Community Plan (formerly known as the Sustainable Community Plan) and the zoning bylaw to better respond to and foster affordable and alternative housing in our community.
The discussion was at times heated, as many community members talked about what they want to see for the future of Grand Forks, the people our community should be attracting, and how we integrate affordable housing solutions. For instance, laneway homes or tiny houses while keeping the form and character of Grand Forks.
As Coun. Julia Butler ventured, we all recognize the need for more housing, but we don’t want to be packed sardines like in the Lower Mainland.
In my role as a reporter, I attend a lot of these types of events and pay close attention to these types of issues as they unfold in the city. I very rarely engage with the issue; after all, nobody reads the paper for my opinion. As Sgt. Joe Friday always said on Dragnet (and one of my more aged journalism professors used to say), “All we want are the facts, ma’am.”
But allow me to digress into my opinion, just a little.
Several people commented on “the type of people” we want in Grand Forks, and “the type of people” who we as a community want to attract here.
After some discussion around real estate, more than one attendee (and I’m not singling anyone out, it was many people at points in the conversation) made a comment to the effect of: people who can buy “three bedroom ranch-style homes with garages and acreage” in our real estate market — those are the kind of people we want in Grand Forks. The undertone of the discussion had elements of discouraging “other people” who might need affordable housing from coming here — at one point it was said, “people with no money.”
After all, the mentality is, build it and they will come and then it becomes our problem.
Not only is it already our problem — we’re experiencing a huge rental shortage and homelessness problem as a community — I don’t fit that definition, and a lot of people don’t. Does that mean we’re not wanted here?
Let’s pretend for a moment that I’m not the community reporter. Look at me from the outside in: I’m a young professional. I have a steady job with a salary and benefits. I shop here, have friends here and spend most of my leisure time here. I chose Grand Forks because it had an opportunity for me, and in the nearly year and a half I’ve been here, I’ve made a life here.
But I’m young. I don’t have the money to buy a house, though I’m saving. My job is entry-level for my profession. I need housing that is safe, clean and comfortable but also affordable. I would be one of the many different “types” of people interested in living in the laneway homes, secondary suites, duplexes or tiny homes talked about at Monday’s workshop.
Throughout many of the discussions on affordable housing I’ve observed in the last year, there seems to be this idea that affordable housing is code for low-income or “less than.” That idea is untrue, but also doesn’t take into account the full picture of people who need affordable housing.
This community needs affordable housing of all kinds. It desperately needs housing solutions for people experiencing homelessness (due to substance issues, mental health barriers, or just plain bad luck), but it also needs housing solutions, period. The Canadian Rental Housing Index classifies our region’s shortfall of rentals as severe — the same as on Vancouver Island and in many parts of the Lower Mainland.
I’m lucky because both rental situations I’ve had since moving here are safe and feel like home. They’re also affordable for my lifestyle and salary.
Because I don’t have to worry about spending thousands each month on a mortgage, I can indulge my latte habit at local cafes and buy some new clothes when I feel like it. I’m so privileged to be able to do that, and in my own small way I’m doing my part for local businesses. I am not the “type” of person who buys an expensive home here, but I do buy my groceries at a local store. Isn’t that what we want?
That ripple effect extends far beyond me. People receiving social assistance, disability and pension are just as deserving of an affordable place to live and when that rental is affordable for their income, they too put money back into the economy. Every dollar spent in this community is a win, no matter whether it came from a government cheque or a full-time salaried job.
There is no “type” of person who needs affordable housing. We all need a safe, clean and affordable place to live, whether you’re on the street, on a couch, in a precarious rental situation or in the process of buying a home.
Pushing the problem onto one perceived type of person, instead of recognizing the need across the spectrum of people in our community, is just another barrier to solving it.