Castlegar city council has decided to award a contract to develop the city’s housing strategy to Resilience Planning.
The contract includes developing a comprehensive housing strategy that addresses the full spectrum of housing needs within the City of Castlegar.
The firm was chosen for the approximately $40,000 project at council’s Nov. 2 committee of the whole meeting. The contract is scheduled for final adoption at the Nov. 16 regular council meeting.
The city says the objective of the housing strategy will be to provide a framework to implement and prioritize actions to promote the delivery of housing through community participation, partnership and innovation.
“The strategy will direct how we move forward as a community to ensure greater housing supply, affordability and diversity of housing choice to accommodate the needs of the community now and into the future,” explains the city on castlegarconnects.ca.
The city undertook a housing needs assessment in 2018. It identified those experiencing the greatest challenges regarding housing within the community as low-income seniors, low-income families, students, people who are experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness, persons with disabilities and vulnerable women.
READ MORE: Castlegar housing study finds gaps in filling needs for poor, disabled
The city is targeting five focus areas in its strategy: increasing affordable housing, supporting housing diversity, promoting rental housing, reducing barriers to housing and strengthening partnerships and community awareness.
betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter