Affordable housing is one of the top public issues in Vancouver today. To the best of our knowledge, City staff have failed to report back to Council as requested within 3 months of this important motion (i.e., by May 26) on how effective the STIR program has been in creating affordable rentals. As far as we know, no report is forthcoming as of September 2013. School is back in session. What happens to kids who fail to submit their assignments on time? And why should it be any different at City Hall?
Here is the text of Regular Council minutes 26-Feb-2013. Motion adopted unanimously.
Regular Council Meeting
Minutes, Tuesday, February 26, 2013 25
B. Motions on Notice
1. Affordability of STIR Program Rental Housing for Average Vancouverites
The following motion contains an amendment to the original Motion on Notice.
MOVED by Councillor Carr
SECONDED by Councillor Affleck
WHEREAS
1. Tackling the affordable housing issue has been a focus of the current and
recent City Councils in Vancouver with actions that include establishing the
Short Term Incentives for Rental (STIR) program from 2009 to 2012;
2. The STIR program was intended to supply affordable rental housing as noted on
the City’s website (Frequently Asked Questions about STIR, May 11, 2010: “The
objective is to achieve rents that are affordable to households in the regular
housing market looking for rental housing”;
3. The Vancouver Housing and Homelessness Strategy 2012 Report Card presented
to City Council on February 12, 2013, noted that, based on the average income
of a single person household in Vancouver and the Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corporation’s definition of affordable housing as housing that costs no
more than 30 percent of a household income, the average affordable rental
rate for singles in Vancouver is $975 per month.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT staff report back to Council within three months on the number and percentage of total rental units built under the STIR program that were, at the time of project approval, projected to rent at $975 per month, the affordable rate for the average single person in Vancouver;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT staff include in its report information on completed STIR projects comparing the projected rents and actual current rents of STIR units.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
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