Mayor Dean Murdock noted there is a change in the housing landscape.
The red marker note at the top of the page might have read “needs improvement,” but the mayor of Saanich still managed to find reason for optimism amid the middling grades on the district’s latest housing report card.
“This was a problem that was years in the making and unfortunately it’s going to be years before we can climb out of it,” he said. “One of the things I have more optimism about is that I can’t recall a time going back to the post-war era where government, all levels of government, have been aligned in their prioritization of trying to solve this problem.
The annual housing progress report, presented to council this week, showed Saanich had 725 net new housing units established last year, which eclipsed the target of 610. The report noted subsidized units are starting to be built in the Nigel Valley near Uptown, there is an application for units as part of a re-imagined Nellie McClung library project, and the district has received pre-application interest from the Capital Regional Housing Corp., Habitat for Humanity and Indigenous organizations.
The situation was slightly better for renters, but the report noted more than 10 per cent of Saanich households are in core housing need, which means their housing is unsuitable, inadequate or unaffordable, and the household can’t afford alternative housing in the local market. He said they have been improving staffing levels and technology, and streamlining their processes so approvals can happen faster.
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