| 
10 17th, 2009| 
Bowen Community Housing Association
(BCHA) submission to
OCP Ideas Forum
Needs:
Bowen needs diversity of housing. The average cost of a dwelling on Bowen is $725,000. With a 20% down payment, an annual household income of over $120,000 is still required to qualify for a mortgage, and only 32.5% of households have income in that range. A household income of just under $78,000 annually is required to buy the least expensive dwelling on Bowen. This means 67.5% of households on Bowen earn less than the income required to buy the average house—36% earn less than needed to buy the least expensive house. If you do not already own a home on Bowen, chances 3 to1 that you could not afford to buy one; however, only 19% of dwellings are available to rent and some are summer homes only available for off-season rental (only 10% of all dwellings are not single-detached houses).[i] Already we have anecdotal evidence of young families leaving the island to find affordable homes, the elderly leaving to find supportive housing, and employers struggling to find dwellings for the personnel they need to operate their businesses.
Diversity of housing is essential to a healthy community. Without it we cannot hope to achieve “… a population with varying income levels, lifestyles and age groups … a healthy community with residents working together to improve the quality of life … [or the capacity to] provide the basic needs of full time residents, seasonal residents and visitors.”[ii]
We need dwellings for the single employees and the employees with families of Island businesses, for seniors who are downsizing, as starter homes for young families, for single parents, persons with disabilities, and young single adults. We need a diversity of dwelling types: not just secondary suites but accessory buildings, rental units, attached housing (row housing, duplexes), accessible housing for seniors and those with disabilities, and alternative housing (supportive housing, cohousing and co-op housing). We also need diversity of affordability: to provide options to for both ownership at market rates in a range of price brackets, as well as “below market” opportunities.
We shouldn’t tolerate a housing situation that results in 1% of our population homeless, single mothers “couch surfing,” and those employed on-island forced to commute from the mainland.
Diversity of housing is not possible without density and developers. Bowen must move beyond considering both of these an anathema and recognize that they are essential to growing into a healthy and vital community.
With respect to the OCP itself, the need is to remove or reword the clauses in the document that impede the provision of diversity of housing and achieving the “Broad Objectives.”(See Schedule A attached.)
Ambitions:
The BCHA wants to see Bowen flourish, not just as a community, but as a model community: “a complete, vibrant, mixed-use community that offers its residents the opportunity to work, live, play, shop, learn and pray within a convenient walking or transit distance. The community should be structured to protect key riparian areas and keep other important natural features stable while respecting the challenges of developing on any particular site. The community should offer a diversity of housing for a range of incomes, family sizes and ages. Commercial areas should offer office, retail, commercial space, in addition to residential and community amenities. For new communities, the issue of providing land use structures that can offer “real jobs” (not just retail) is critical for the long term prosperity of the community. The landscape in the community also needs to offer a wide range of recreational opportunities to provide a great quality of life to residents and visitors.”[iii]
Our ambition is for Bowen Island to offer every one of its citizens an appropriate and affordable home; whether rented or owned; whether priced at or below market. Coincidentally, the densities, clustering, and style of housing needed to accomplish this is in lock step with best practices for green building and environmental stewardship.
Our ambition is to give everyone on Bowen choices of housing type and location and some security of tenure in this choice.
Thoughts about Bowen’s Future:
Diversity of housing types for a wide range of incomes is essential to Bowen’s future as a healthy community. Without this we continue to move towards a future as a wealthy gated suburb within a private park. Diversity of housing is not an end, but rather a means to ensuring the vibrancy, vitality, and diversity in the community. By making the cost of housing appropriate, diversity allows everyone to thrive regardless of their level of income. Snug Cove should remain the Island’s cultural, economic, and social centre and; therefore, the area of greatest density; however, income should not force one to live in the Cove or preclude them from living on the west side of the island.
Diversity of housing will allow choice in all things: ownership or rental, long term or short term tenure, location, to stay or to go, and by giving the opportunity for the individual to thrive, will allow the community to thrive—without it there is no future on Bowen for many.
BCHA submission to OCP Ideas Forum
SCHEDULE A
The following is specific language in the existing (1995) Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 139 that the BCHA feels impedes the provision of the diversity of housing types needed to “encourage maintenance of a population with varying income levels, lifestyles and age groups.”
2.2 Principles
Bullet 3 “…there shall be no net increase in overall island lot density…”
3.1.2.1 “…cluster housing may be permitted provided it does not detract from the rural character…and the overall building density is maintained”.
3.1.4 Affordable Housing, Rental Housing, Special Needs Housing
3.1.4.4 “Affordable and special needs housing shall be considered one form of community amenity that may be considered in exchange for slightly higher density…”
3.1.4.7 “Zoning for multi-family or attached housing shall require the following amenities as a minimum for the development to proceed:
a) Any residual land not used for access, parking, or the building footprint shall be permanent green space.
b) Strategically located green space dedicated for public ownership shall be part of the permanent green space;”
3.1.4.8 Multi-family or attached housing shall be designed as garden apartments or row housing and shall be limited in density to approximately four (4) units per development.
3.1.4.9 “There shall be no overall increase in dwelling unity density through the provision of multi-dwelling unit housing on any parcel above that allowed for other forms of residential housing…”.
Bowen Island Municipal Bylaw No. 137, 2004 – Bowen Island Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 139, 1995, Amendment Bylaw No. 137, 2004 (Snug Cove Village Plan)
4.1.3 “Providing for higher density residential housing within the Village Centre…should be accommodated only if the housing… does not contribute to overall growth on the island beyond that anticipated in the OCP.”
4.1.3 e) “Ensure that new higher density residential development does not exceed a height of 2.5 stories.”
These points require re-writing and in some cases should be deleted as they are in direct opposition to the success of several of the Broad Objectives of the existing OCP, and will serve to block efforts towards ensuring that the housing supply on Bowen will support a diverse population.
[i] http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/data/cen06/profiles/detailed/59015062.pdf
[ii] Bowen Island Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 139, 2.3 Broad Objectives
[iii] Holland Barrs, Pillar #1 – A Complete Community – Land Use, Density and Site Layout.
http://www.hollandbarrs.com/articles/8%20Pillars%20article%20summary%20article%20-%20April%2008.pdf
