Mayor pitches housing project

Mayor pitches housing project Mayor Dave Bronconnier will on Monday ask city council to approve a housing incentive program -- including a pilot project offering $25,000 to anyone adding a new secondary suite in Calgary real estate. Bronconnier said the cash incentive, first pitched during his re-election campaign earlier this fall, could help spur construction of secondary suites.

“It is an attempt to address the housing crunch,” he said Friday. “We have 3,400 people living on the street in Calgary and we’ve got over 2,100 people currently on a waiting list for affordable housing. “It has reached a crisis proportion in Calgary.”

If approved by council, the pilot project would give a $25,000 interest-free loan to 50 homeowners who build new secondary suites in their homes. The loan could be forgiven if a suite is made available for 20 years. But the proposal is drawing criticism from some aldermen.

“I am sure it’s well intended,” said Ald. Ric McIver, “but I think we have to be careful about handing out money to people for something that is primarily a provincial and federal responsibility.” Ald. Andre Chabot said he also has problems with the proposal. “Throwing money at the problem is not going to solve it,” he said.

Bronconnier also wants research done on other incentive programs in cities such as New York, Portland, Ore., and Vancouver. Another possibility would be changing the zoning rules to make sure affordable housing is built in every new community. The pilot project, he said, would be a good fi rst step.

“Let’s see if this will work and get Calgary housing built,” he said. Earlier this year, council passed a new land use bylaw that includes provisions for secondary suites in various residential areas. Since then, council has asked several developers to set aside a total of 700 units of affordable housing in the newly approved communities of Walden, Auburn Bay, Mahogany and Northpoint. Some of the $2 million in seed money to start the incentive program would come from a $63-million provincial grant for affordable housing in 2007.

SOURCE: Colette Derworiz, Calgary Herald

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