Burnaby Social Sustainability Strategy - City of Burnaby

Affordable and Suitable Housing
Building on our Foundation
11. Consider developing or clarifying criteria for use of the City’s Housing
Fund to fill gaps in the city’s housing continuum. For example, consider
whether the Fund should be permitted to offset acquisition costs in
addition to site development costs currently identified.
12. Continue to lease City-owned properties for non-market and
supportive housing which is affordable to low- and moderate-income
households, and for residential services such as safe houses and
transition houses in order to increase the supply of such housing in the
city.
Garden Square Housing Cooperative
provides 58 nonmarket
housing units and is
situated on City-owned land.
13. Continue to add to Burnaby’s stock of adaptable/accessible housing
units suitable for persons with disabilities, seniors and others with
unique access needs through the Community Benefit Bonus Policy.
14. Seek more effective ways to advocate to the federal and provincial
governments, including through Metro Vancouver, Union of
British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) and/or Federation of
Canadian Municipalities (FCM), for programs and policies that reflect
a full continuum of housing options, and that make it easier for
municipalities to support affordable and suitable housing. 6
Possible Partners and their Roles:
• Federal government: 1) develop a National Housing Strategy that
envisions a full range of housing options; 2) provide transfer
payments to the provinces to assist with construction of housing
affordable to low- and moderate-income households.
• Provincial government: 1) provide capital and operating funding
programs for non-market and other forms of housing affordable
to low- and moderate-income households; 2) grant municipalities
the authority to zone for rental housing.
• Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Union of British
Columbia Municipalities, Metro Vancouver, and Urban
Development Institute (UDI): 1) participate in advocacy efforts
regarding funding for non-market and other forms of housing
affordable to low- and moderate-income households.
15. Consider revising the City’s Adaptable Housing Policy to ensure the
construction of an adequate stock of adaptable housing units to
meet the needs of those with disabilities and an aging population.
6
The full continuum of housing options is
generally considered to include:
• private home ownership
• private market rental
• rental assistance in the private market
• independent social housing (e.g., cooperatives,
non-profit housing operated
by third parties)
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• transition, supportive and assisted living
(e.g., transition houses and 2nd stage
housing for victims of domestic violence,
residential treatment facilities those with
mental illness and/or addictions, seniors
housing with meals and housekeeping
services available)
• emergency shelter and housing for the
homeless.
Richard Faucher, Burnaby
Association for Community
Inclusion, Ryan Bosa, Embassy
Development Corporation and
Mayor Derek Corrigan celebrate
the opening of nine accessible
housing units achieved through the
Community Benefit Bonus Policy.
How it Works
Adaptable housing is housing
that is designed to adapt
to people’s needs through
all stages of their lives,
including disability, illness or
injury. It includes design and
construction features that can
be modified at minimal cost to
suit people’s changing needs,
thereby significantly decreasing
renovation costs, and allowing
occupants to age in place.
Burnaby’s Adaptable Housing
Policy encourages developers
of multiple-family residential
buildings to voluntarily provide
5% of the units in a development
as adaptable.