Canadian Funding Corporation Reports on The City of Langford
April 1, 2009admin Comments OffThe City of Langford, a community of about 25,000 on the outskirts of Victoria, B.C., has seen a lot of rapid development in the past decade—but an influx of residents and wealth can lead to rising prices that displace long-term residents and marginalize vulnerable populations. To manage this change, the City drew on the strength of its partnerships with the development industry to create a sustainable and mutually beneficial housing strategy.
The City’s first step was the creation of an Affordable Housing Policy in 2004, in consultation with industry leaders. The main thrust of the Policy was an “inclusionary zoning” requirement that one in every 10 new housing units would have to be affordable. Various players have roles in effecting the requirement:
* Developers contribute land and building costs for one tenth of the units, which are then priced at about 60 per cent of market value.
* The City provides free administrative support, such as processing applications and designs, along with density bonusing and streamlined development approvals as incentives.
* Local realtors provide real estate services free of charge for these units, while credit unions, mortgage brokers and insurers (including CMHC) streamline mortgage pre-approvals.
This arrangement garnered considerable support from industry partners, who saw that Langford’s Affordable Housing Policy also translated into long-term benefits for them. The success of the Policy drove further discussion on what Langford could do to promote more diversity and sustainability.
In 2007, the City of Langford put into force the Affordable Housing Parks and Amenity Contribution (AHPAC) Policy, which expanded on the original policy in several ways, to address even greater diversity in housing opportunities. AHPAC promotes and supports housing affordability, while ensuring that affordable housing initiatives work cooperatively with the municipality’s Smart Growth and sustainability goals. It requires new developments to be Code-ready for secondary suites, contributing to both density and diversity; it also created visitability requirements, such as wide doorways and level entrances, to accommodate people with disabilities. For every new dwelling, the AHPAC also requires a $500 contribution to the City’s Affordable Housing Reserve Fund, which is used to fund a rent subsidy program and the construction of new subsidized units.
Having garnered support and more than $8 million in subsidies from the local development community, Langford has shown that a successful one-in-10 program is possible without government subsidy, even for a small city with limited resources. The success of this program has attracted national attention, prompting Langford planners to give presentations in communities across the country, and on CMHC’s Affordable Housing Web Forum.
Lets just hope that one day Toronto will learn from this small town, says Moishe Alexander, and will to be able to solve this isue without throwing billions around. Thank you to the city of Langford for proving that it could be done!