CRD Rural Housing Program

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The Capital Regional District (CRD) is designing a Rural Housing Program through the development of a Pilot Project that will take place on the Southern Gulf Islands (SGI) and Salt Spring Island (SSI) Electoral Areas (EAs).

The Rural Housing Program (RHP) will prototype various housing solutions that are better suited to the rural context and to enable CRD responsiveness to the housing crisis across the capital region.

Like elsewhere, rural communities in the CRD struggle with a lack of housing options. In the islands, solutions are even more challenged by environmental limits, servicing constraints, higher building costs, and a lack of funding for small scale housing projects.

Intended Pilot Project Features

• Develop a framework to provide financial assistance for homeowners to build secondary suites and cottages in exchange for commitments to affordable rents;
• Build a program to invest pre-development funding in affordable housing projects; and,
• Support the coordination of activities through additional capacity available to non-profit housing providers.

New funding to support secondary suites and cottages as well as pre-development funding are subject to CRD Board approval through the 2025 budget process. The pilot program on SSI and SGI will test various initiatives that could be implemented across the region’s other rural communities.

The RHP pilot is a response to the requests from the SGI Community Economic Sustainability Commission (SGI CESC) and the SSI Local Community Commission (SSI LCC) for the CRD to assist with local housing. The coordination on SSI and SGI is funded by the SGI Tourism Partnership (SGITP), which is the official destination marketing organization for these areas and receives funding from the province through online accommodation providers on the islands. This financial support allows the CRD to employ dedicated staff to manage the program, seek out further partnerships, and provide strategic advice to help project proponents with the complex regulatory environment.

Additionally, the CRD collaborates with the SGI Community Resource Centre to support the Housing Now program. This initiative, funded by the SSI LCC, the SGI CESC, and the SGITP, aims to match renters with various types of long-term housing options available from residents of the islands.

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