Prince Albert’s housing shortage was put in front of builders, lenders, service agencies, multiple levels of governments, and community groups Tuesday as the city looked for practical ways to move its Housing Strategy and Action Plan toward action.
The community meeting was held June 2 at the Margo Fournier Arts Centre. Representatives from organizations including Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, YWCA Prince Albert, River Bank Development Corporation, Oxford House Saskatchewan, Prince Albert Community Housing, Prince Albert Mobile Crisis, realtors, and financial institutions were among those present.
Michael Nelson, the city of Prince Albert’s acting director of community development, said the goal was to gather feedback and action items that can help address housing issues in the city.
“We’re hoping to get feedback from all the participants today, and just some action items that we can help address some of the housing issues that we have in the city,” Nelson said.
He said he was happy with the turnout and said the room included real estate agents, government agencies, nonprofit groups, local developers, and residents.
“I think with the variety of residents and people that have showed up today, we’re going to have some really good feedback and different dialogue that is going to help shape the future of this plan,” Nelson said.
Arjun Pillai/Daily Herald
Attendees at Tuesday’s Prince Albert Housing Strategy and Action Plan community meeting added notes to a barriers board as part of a discussion on what prevents housing construction in the city.
The meeting followed the city’s housing needs assessment, which identified a need for about 1,097 new housing units by 2036. Nelson said those targets are high, but the meeting was intended to help identify what can be done and which targets may be easier to reach sooner.
“Our top priority from this meeting is to help develop a plan that is something that we can easily action, and it helps to get houses built and more homes for people and different options,” he said.
Brenda Wallace, principal of Wallace Insights, said the session was about bringing people together to find innovative solutions for Prince Albert’s housing needs.
Wallace Insights is a Saskatoon-based consulting firm that works on planning, development, public engagement, and housing strategies.
“Today is really about the community meeting each other in order to come up with some innovative solutions to the housing needs here in Prince Albert,” Wallace said.
Wallace said Prince Albert has a large need for affordable housing. She said one statistic from the needs assessment showed more than 80 percent of the need is for rent at a low level, around $940 per month.
She also pointed to the number of secondary market units in the city, describing them as informal or unlicensed rentals such as rooms, garage suites, or granny suites. Wallace said those arrangements can create risk if they are not safe housing situations.
The presentation also outlined several possible action areas, including changes to regulations and policy, incentives, partnerships, research and monitoring, and education and awareness. Those areas included ideas such as infill housing, student housing, mixed-use development, housing incentives, financial partnerships, a housing data dashboard and public education around affordable and supportive housing.
Wallace said affordable housing cannot be solved by one level of government or one source of funding.
“We need the federal government to bring resources to the table, we need the provincial government to bring resources. We need the municipality to bring not only its resources, but its policy environment, and we need the private sector and others to also be bringing their investment forward,” she said. “Everyone needs to work together in many layers in order to achieve a viable product.”
Mayor Bill Powalinsky opened the meeting by saying the city needs to look at new approaches and move beyond its comfort zone on housing.
“It’s really time for us to take action and move ahead,” Powalinsky said, adding that housing solutions will require participation from developers, architects, financiers, real estate agents, investors, housing advocates, and all levels of government.
The meeting agenda asked participants to look at what currently prevents housing construction, which initiatives have the most potential, and housing targets.
Wallace said the next step is to write the plan and bring it to council for discussion. She said she hopes the broader community contribution will help the strategy move forward and be implemented.
Nelson said residents who have feedback on the housing strategy can contact the city, and there will be another opportunity for residents to raise questions or concerns when the strategy comes before council.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
