Port Moody looking into policy requiring housing considerations any time city develops municipal-owned land

Port Moody staff will be looking at developing a policy that would require the city to look at adding housing options any time a piece of municipal-owned land is developed.

A motion, introduced by Couns. Amy Lubik and Samanatha Agtarap on Sept. 26, states that transition, low-income seniors, Indigenous or other supportive housing options should be considered whenever construction takes place.

It passed unanimously, and staff will be reporting back on a policy in three to six months.

“We need to expand our civic facilities, but we also have an opportunity, and an obligation really, to look at ways that we can serve our population,” Lubik said. “As we look to private developers and other partners to provide affordable housing, it’s up to us to look into how we can do it as well.”

The city is currently considering expanding some public facilities, including a new public library, which is more than three times too small for the population it serves.

Agtarap said the purpose of the motion is to ensure council and staff are prompted at the planning stage whenever major renovations, expansions or construction is on the books.

Port Moody’s housing target, which was recently set by the province, is to build 1,694 new housing units including 734 that are either rentals or supportive housing.

Waitlists for housing with BC Housing take years, with over 1,000 people in line in the Tri-Cities alone, according to the motion.

The motion states Port Moody needs to take a “multi-pronged approach,” and not rely solely on negotiations with private landowners.

It noted the city has signaled its willingness to supply land, but the land is in short supply, and there are competing priorities ranging from public saftey and recreation uses to the new library.

The policy should be integrated into the city’s land strategy, which is under development, to housing in the space above any redevelopments, according to the motion.

Examples of these types of housing initiatives already exist in B.C., the motion states. 

One Vancouver Fire Department Hall has housing for single mothers, the City of Rossland built housing above their new city hall, Vancouver’s Strathcona library includes supportive housing, and the Kelowna Recreation Centre currently has affordable housing proposed.

The YWCA Pacific Spirit Terrace opened in Vancouver above Fire Hall No. 5 in 2019. The first floors were dedicated space for the firehall, while four floors above provided 31 new two- and three-bedroom units, providing homes for between 64 and 90 women and children.