Housing

Housing is an issue for Valemount. Many predicted it would become a problem as we worked with Valemount Glacier Destination Resorts, and the hype around the project may have made things worse.

High housing prices and low vacancy is an issue for people that want to settle here. It's an issue for employers. It's an issue for families that need to upgrade to a larger home. In short it's an issue for the community.

Three approaches

First, we need to encourage home building by cutting red tape and sending out a clear signal to landowners that the time to build is now. This includes the creation of more secondary suites, by making the rules around this clear we can help homeowners decide if a secondary suite is right for them.

Second, we need to support organizations that are working on housing.

Third, we need to promote the development of multi-family residential in Valemount using land that the village owns. Offering the future use of land isn't enough. Council needs to support those organizations, both public and private that will take this on.

Delegating... and listening

The village council did a good thing when it created an affordable housing committee. They recruited widely and found people who were both invested in the problem and had the intelligence to figure out what could be done.  But their decision to disregard the committee's recommendations is problematic.

They have wasted valuable time of community members willing to make a contribution. They are actually holding the village back from making simple changes that create housing.

Housing and the resort

Valemount Glacier Destination Resort has been an awesome partner to the village historically and they have agreed to shoulder the housing needs for their employees. Council's support for the resort is good, but council needs to think clearly about the consequences of promoting a project that hasn't officially started. Council needs to think and plan for the pressures created by spinoff businesses. New restaurants, motels and services will bring more pressure on housing and that won't be taken care of by employee accommodation at the resort.

We need to be more careful with our reputation as a community.  Too many projects have failed. I'm confident the resort will happen, but when council brings the project into the spotlight time and time again, they may be conflating our housing and affordability issues without adding value to the community.  Council has to focus on the projects that are already under way and that attract new residents to the community. Projects like the Valemount Bike Park, Crystal Ridge, and access to the snowmobiling resonate with people who want to move here. That helps grow the community.