A four-unit townhouse in West Kelowna will be converted from rental housing to strata-titled units for individual sale, following a council vote that went against city staff乌鸦传媒檚 recommendation.
At council乌鸦传媒檚 June 24 meeting, property owner Brad Bredin applied to convert the 1988-built property at 2742 Riffington Place from rental units into strata units.
City staff advised council to reject the application, pointing to the city乌鸦传媒檚 draft Rental Protection Policy, which is designed to prevent the loss of rental housing. Though the policy is still in development, it currently exempts buildings with fewer than five units乌鸦传媒攂ut that could change once finalized later this summer.
Bredin, a former realtor, said the city乌鸦传媒檚 rental situation has improved in recent years.
乌鸦传媒淲est Kelowna has a healthy 3.7 per cent vacancy rate, resulting from a large number of rental properties built over the last few years,乌鸦传媒� he told council. 乌鸦传媒淒evelopers continue to build purpose-built rentals on the Westside, including numerous on Westbank First Nation land. What is not being built is affordable family housing.乌鸦传媒�
He estimated his townhouses would sell for between $420,000 and $430,000.
乌鸦传媒淭here乌鸦传媒檚 only one townhouse available on the Westside for sale right now under $450,000,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淪o there乌鸦传媒檚 a real need for this type of housing.乌鸦传媒�
Councillors Garrett Millsap, Stephen Johnston, and Mayor Gord Milsom voted in favour of the conversion.
乌鸦传媒淔or me, it乌鸦传媒檚 really easy to find a rental right now,乌鸦传媒� said Millsap. 乌鸦传媒淭he rental market is flooded. There乌鸦传媒檚 buildings that are vacant.乌鸦传媒�
Johnston wants to see more houses built that encourage ownership at different levels.
乌鸦传媒淚 actually think that乌鸦传媒檚 where we乌鸦传媒檙e going to be better off in the future乌鸦传媒攚here we can have Canadians owning homes and then saving for retirement via that homeownership model. Rental doesn乌鸦传媒檛 really handle that long-term.乌鸦传媒�
Mayor Milsom also supported the idea of expanding affordable ownership.
乌鸦传媒淎s far as ownership for affordability of homes, that乌鸦传媒檚 another aspect that乌鸦传媒檚 really important in our community, and these do seem to be priced well for young families,乌鸦传媒� he said.
Councillor Rick de Jong was the only vote in opposition.
乌鸦传媒淚 understand why the applicant wants to do what he wants to do,乌鸦传媒� he said. "And certainly, do we want to provide affordable housing for the community? You bet. 乌鸦传媒淏ut by the same token, we need to protect our rental stock so that we don乌鸦传媒檛 drop under three per cent.乌鸦传媒�
The provincial government requires municipalities to maintain a supply of rental units to meet at least a three per cent vacancy rate, and meet local demand.
乌鸦传媒淲e aren乌鸦传媒檛 seeing a lot of purpose-built rentals right now and our population is growing,乌鸦传媒� de Jong noted.
He also raised concerns about tenant displacement.
乌鸦传媒淪ome of those tenants just simply aren乌鸦传媒檛 in a position to purchase乌鸦传媒擨乌鸦传媒檓 actually going to support staff乌鸦传媒檚 recommendation today. It really is a tough one. I look at both directions and I could argue both ways.乌鸦传媒�
