Radium Hot Springs was chosen alongside six other B.C. communities to receive provincial funding to create a housing needs report.
According to the Provincial Government, Radium will receive $15,000 to facilitate the assessment.
“Local governments and First Nations know their communities best, and they are essential partners in addressing the housing crisis. This funding enables them to determine specifically the kind of homes people in their regions need, so they can use this information to support their planning and decision-making. Understanding the specific housing needs in communities is part of working together to continue to build and support healthy and resilient communities throughout B.C., now and into the future,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Municipal Affairs.
Radium Hot Springs is receiving the money as part of the fourth intake of the Housing Needs Report Program, which aims to help local governments collect and analyze housing-related data from their communities.
“The lack of affordable housing and the need for additional supportive housing options are common to many B.C. communities, but the specific needs vary considerably from one place to the next,” said Brian Frenkel, president, UBCM. “The Housing Needs Report Program is designed to strengthen the data available to inform local decision-making to ensure that new developments, whether market-based or supportive, address the needs of communities today and tomorrow.”
Local governments will be required to provide their first housing needs report by April 2022, and every five years after.
“The Village of Radium Hot Springs is eager to move forward with the housing needs assessment with this funding. There have been marked changes in the housing market over the last 18 months, and we are eager to have the most current information to assist us with making decisions in the future,” said Radium Hot Springs mayor, Clara Reinhardt
