At Monday's Council session Mr. Krekic reviewed some of the background from the city's Go Plan process, which had selected 1,284 households of of 5,586 for its baseline survey, of those 1,284 households selected the city received an 80 percent response rate for their study.
A secondary study as part of the Go Plan process was on a voluntary basis and conducted on line for the most part, that information gathering process received 400 responses, however those results have yet to be fully examined and the details of information from the review will be made available as part of a future analysis.
As for what was reviewed on Monday, Mr. Krekic made note of such things as shadow populations, those that may be moving in and out of the city for employment or other purposes, that number at the moment would appear to number in the range of 500 people. The City Planner noted that those numbers could grow significantly as the region moves closer to development should some of the major projects proposed for the region move forward.
He observed that the potential increase of that population could have an effect on both the availability and affordability of rent in the community.
On the theme of the Non Market Housing Survey which was another aspect of the LNG Go Plan process, Mr. Krekic observed that during the course of that engagement in June, the City had received 131 responses to their questionnaire, a good portion of that number delivered through a Block Party hosted by Councillors Thorkelson and Cunningham at the Fishermen's Hall that month.Those numbers highlighted the increasingly transient nature for some of Prince Rupert's rental community, with renovations and rental increases impacting on how the city's renters look at their living accommodations, with a number of respondents indicating that they plan to move to a new home within the next year owing to the changing rental picture in the community.
The City planner noted that the data collection will serve the community well heading into the future
providing for a baseline for future study and offering an ability to track such things as the shadow population, housing stock and changing attitudes towards rental accommodation in the community.
And while the data may be helpful to the City in the future, Councillor Barry Cunningham had concerns more directed towards the present times, noting that while he appreciates the work that has been done as part of the Go Plan Survey he's a bit frustrated that at this time the City still has no real picture as to what the actual immediate need for housing in the community is.
Councillor Cunningham would like to have some data that offers up an indication where the City should direct their housing right now when it comes to housing concerns in the community.
"All I'm concentrating on is the housing, we were told at the beginning of this Go Survey we would have answers to our housing problem and that's the one thing, you know I don't want to find out that we've identified all our parks and people are camping in them, cause they don't have a place to live " -- Councillor Barry Cunningham on the theme of the LNG GO Plan data and guidelines for housing need in the community
Mr. Krekic noted that some of those conclusions could be delivered within four to five weeks, once the review of data could be examined further. Adding that a look at affordable housing could be delivered in the next two to four weeks, while a further review of sustainable housing prospects might take a little bit longer.
As for the larger picture of the full scope of the LNG Go Plan surveys, the City Planner outlined a timetable that would see the current work complete by January of 2016 with a public engagement session to follow.
As part of the discussion on Housing, Mayor Brain first thanked Mr. Krekic and staff for their work on the Go Plan Survey and noted that other communities were watching the city's process with interest.
He also urged patience for council noting that the volume of data that has been collected will serve the city well in the future, offering it some hard data to take such agencies as BC Housing and other government agencies on the theme of housing.
He also noted that Council will be holding housing workshops in the fall and that the City could host a public information session at the Lester Centre later this year.
At the end of his presentation to Council, Mr. Krekic advised that the latest data from the Go Plan Survey process will be made available today, to be found on the City's Website, as part of the Planning for Major Projects section when it is provided.
You can review the full presentation from the City's Video Archive, Mr. Krekic's presentation starts at the 41 minute mark and continues through until the one hour five minute point.
For more items related to Housing in the community see our archive page here
Further background on Council Discussions can be found from our Discussion Archive page.
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