Sechelt council has directed staff to negotiate a compromise to allow the Pacific Spirit site project to move forward in response to developer concerns that modifications to the project would trigger a prohibitively-expensive affordable housing requirement.
Part-owner and project spokesperson Ian Porter presented his concerns at committee of the whole June 9.
"We understand the requirement for affordable housing in communities, although we think the structure that's in place right now is too much to be borne by this project," Porter said.
The site developers already have an approved plan in place, which would allow them to start construction immediately on the waterfront site. Over the past few months, they have been addressing council and speaking with the community about a new version of the project, which involves more durable construction and more units, and which seems to have broader community support. The developers have been seeking comfort from council that it intends to approve the new version, prior to launching an expensive approvals-seeking process.
At committee, Porter said the new version of the project would trigger an affordable housing requirement that would add up to $2 million in additional costs. On the other hand, he said, if the developers proceed with the already-approved version, they face no affordable housing requirements, as approvals were obtained before the policy was passed in 2008.
Porter pointed out the new version of the project would contribute back approximately $60,000 per residential unit to Sechelt in development cost charges and public amenities.
Council revisited the question at its meeting Wednesday, June 16, and after much discussion, directed staff to negotiate a compromise that might, for example, apply affordable housing requirements only to the "lift" or increased units of the new project, rather than the project in its entirety.
Coun. Warren Allan steadfastly defended the affordable housing policy and argued against bending it.
"I don't get it, if every time somebody's going to spend millions of dollars, we've got to throw out everything we tried to accomplish with respect to setting policy," he said.
Councillors Alice Lutes, Ann Kershaw and Keith Thirkell, however, spoke for relaxing the requirements.
"I'm someone who's really in favour of affordable housing and can't get there fast enough, but this particular development came and was approved and there was not going to be this kind of a levy on their development," Lutes said. "Now they've made changes that are much more appealing to the community, and we're going to slap them with this huge debt? I don't feel it's right."
