City development incentives are not doing enough to make housing in Vancouver more affordable, according to a new report by UBC researchers.
The study by the Housing Justice Project, led by UBC Planning Professor Penny Gurstein and Law Professor Margot Young, examined the effectiveness of the City’s sometimes controversial Community Amenity Contributions (CACs). Under the CAC scheme, developers give the city cash or in-kind contributions for receiving additional density rezoning approval from the City, usually valued at around 75 per cent of the increase in land value from the rezoning.
The analysis found that from 2010 to 2012, 170 non-market units were committed through CACs provided during approvals of additional density rezonings. A further 1,719 secure market rental units were provided through the Short Term Incentives for Rental Housing program (STIR) and Secure Market Housing Policy.
The study added that, “In contrast, the household wait list for BC Housing units averaged 3,425 per year over that same period.”
The report said: “In 2010,CACs did not secure any on-site non-market rental units, while the BC Housing wait list sat at 2,987 households. In 2011, public benefit contributions helped create 100 non-market rental units, while the BC Housing wait list sat at 3,509 households. Finally, in 2012, public benefit contributions helped create 70 non-market rental units but the BC Housing wait list had reached 3,632 households.
“Using data from BC Housing wait list alone, it is clear that a deep gap exists between low-income housing need for Vancouver residents and the creation of non-market rental housing stock.”
Professor Young said, “While CACs are one policy tool available to the City of Vancouver to address our affordable housing crisis, they clearly cannot fix the problem on their own.
“We need more innovative and public housing solutions from all levels of government.”
Professor Gurstein added, “What this study found is that CACs can provide only a limited portion of what is needed to meet the demand for non-market rental housing in Vancouver.”
The report also criticized the lack of clarity in the City’s reporting of how CACs contribute to the creation of affordable housing.
It said: “The [City of Vancouver’s] reports do not provide information on how many affordable housing projects were supported by cash CACs. This places a serious limitation on efforts to measure the full contribution of CACs to the city’s non-market rental housing stock. The City of Vancouver should consider presenting these annual reports.”
To read the full UBC report, click here.
