The Town of Creston has made steps towards furthering growth of affordable housing options.
At the regular council meeting held on Jan. 11, council adopted the new Residential Revitalization Tax Exemption (RTE) Bylaw. Although the Town previously had an RTE bylaw for commercial properties, this bylaw was developed to encourage the growth of rental housing stock in Creston.
“Council recognizes that our community is experiencing a growing need for affordable housing stock, specifically, rental properties,” said Mayor Ron Toyota.
“We know that affordable housing is a multi-faceted issue. Although there may not be a single perfect solution, our intent with the establishment of a residential RTE is to develop a mechanism to incentivize developing rental housing, thereby addressing one component of affordable housing.”
For residential properties to be eligible for a RTE from the Town of Creston, new dwelling units must be constructed. The owner must also enter into a “housing agreement”, securing the newly constructed dwellings as rental units for 10 TO 15 years. Housing agreements may either be with the Town of Creston or B.C. Housing, depending on the type of development. The program provides relief from the increase in the municipal portion of property taxes, that may result from the increased assessed property value after the project is completed. Relief can be up to 100 per cent for a specified term.
“A well-housed community is a safer community,” said Councillor Norm Eisler.
“It is in everyone’s best interest to address our current housing crisis. This RTE on new rental units is an exciting first step.”
In 2020, the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) published a Regional Housing Needs Assessment, which estimated that the number of “unaffordable” homes in Creston grew by approximately 30 per cent from 2006 to 2016.
In Creston, tenure types have significantly shifted from home ownership to rentals, with over one-quarter of residents living in rented dwellings.
Throughout municipalities in the Kootenays, rental vacancies remain extremely low.
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