Affordable Housing Action Plan

Affordable Housing Action Plan 

The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) is now undertaking an Affordable Housing Acton Plan for its 11 Electoral Areas to provide the RDCK with actionable strategies and a plan for their implementation.

The RDCK Board endorsed the Housing Action Plan at the May 18, 2023 regular open meeting, and Planning staff will be bringing forward an implementation work plan in Summer 2023. Click here to view the RDCK Housing Action Plan.

In 2020 the RDCK completed its first Housing Needs Assessment to identify current and projected housing needs for eight of its member municipalities (excluding City of Castlegar) and all of its Electoral Areas. Key findings of the assessment were:

  • The population of the RDCK is aging;
  • Renter households are increasing and are less able to meet their housing needs than owners;
  • Renters and owners are both challenged  by the current housing market;
  • There is a need for more non-market housing options, supportive, and emergency housing options; and,
  • Transportation costs are contributing to energy poverty.

In response to the results of the Housing Needs Assessment, the RDCK Board directed staff to undertake five recommended next steps, one of which is to “create a housing action plan”.

What is an Affordable Housing Action Plan?

An Affordable Housing Action Plan will lay the foundation for success by translating housing needs identified in RDCK's 2020 Regional Housing Needs Assessment into solutions and action. Communities that have undertaken such strategies have generally been more proactive in addressing the shortage of affordable housing. Other than providing a good sense of the problems and solutions, developing an Affordable Housing Action Plan with a range of stakeholders and community members helps to develop the relationships, roles, partnerships and trust that will ultimately help deliver affordable housing.

                                                                                                           Image: BC Housing Research Centre

The content on this page was last updated October 20 2023 at 3:27 AM