Affordable homes possible with the right approach

Published: June 04, 2010 5:00 PM

The affordable housing challenge is real.

Your coverage of this issue was well done, and hopefully the exposure will bring this issue to centre stage to the general population of the Cowichan Valley.

I’d like to add a few comments from the perspective of the private sector.

As a long-time private sector supplier of affordable rental housing, providing this type of accommodation is not easy, but it is possible.

We are in the business of providing safe and affordable housing to those folks who need and appreciate the opportunity to build dignity and improve the quality of their lives.

But we are also in the business of providing reasonable returns to our investors.

With the right formula and execution, it is possible to create a win/win for the tenant, the local community, and the private investor.

We currently house more than two dozen families and individuals in the valley, with plans to expand this with the development of seven more units by the end of 2010.

We have faced and overcome significant challenges over the years.

Many of these were touched upon in your articles, such as lack of coordination of the levels of government, lack of awareness of the issue, and the lack of an affordable housing policy at the CVRD.

We would like to see a common repository of information on where affordable housing is located and available in the valley, such that prospective tenants and the service agencies can look for shelter solutions.

A valley website could easily be developed along the lines of our own website www.affordablerentals.ca.

We would also like to pose a challenge to the residents of the valley to become part of the solution. First, by having them recognize affordable housing is an essential component of the communities in which we live. Hand-in-hand with this understanding is the need to accept that the neighbour could be an affordable housing unit.

And, finally, for those folks who really want to be part of the solution, they can participate in the financing of affordable housing projects through our Circle of Life program.

This program enables Affordable Holdings & Associates to expand the number of affordable housing units in the valley. More information is available on our website www.affordableholdings.com.

Mike Dix is the president and founder of Affordable Holdings & Associates.

Cowichan News Leader Pictorial
Published: May 19, 2010 10:46 AM
Updated: May 19, 2010 10:55 AM Part six in a series

The lack of affordable housing has reached a crisis level, according to Social Planning Cowichan.

Today marks the sixth and final part in a six-part News Leader Pictorial series examining the causes and consequences.

***

David Coulson’s backyard may hold answers to the valley’s affordable housing woes.

The Cowichan contractor’s two-acre property boasts multiple residences.

First is his own home.

Then there’s the 875-square-foot standalone home that could comfortably house a two-person family — Coulson uses it as a demonstration studio to illustrate what can be done on a one-acre or larger property.

The final unit is a 375-square-foot dwelling occupied by a senior — Coulson’s father-in-law.

“These are two great solutions for the Cowichan Valley,” said Coulson.

And these are the kinds of creative remedies that affordable housing advocates say are key to solving Cowichan’s affordable home problem.

“Communities that are well established do things a certain way and have done so for a long time,” said Geri Sera, Cowichan’s affordable housing strategy co-ordinator.

“So we have to remove the limitations of tradition and think outside the box toward things that can be very viable.”

Coulson, for example, was commissioned by a local, home-owning single mom to build a secondary suite on her property.

That suite is now rented by another single mom, generating a mortgage helper for the homeowner and affordable living for another single-parent family.

Others, like Affordable Holdings founder Mike Dix, are building private-industry affordable housing units with a “for-reasonable-profit” model.

“I could fill my places five times over, which shows the demand for affordable housing certainly outstrips the supply,” he said.

Dix promises private developers can earn a living off affordable housing projects.

“The problem is most want to get in, build, sell, and get out with as much (money) as possible — that’s not what I do.”

A former IT consultant, Dix generated a significant income and used it toward purchasing large pieces of property with old homes.

In doing so, he inherited tenants.

“To be honest, I got into this more by circumstance than by plan,” he admitted. “It turned out many of the tenants I inherited were low-income or at-risk individuals, and I saw they deserved better so job one was to make the places livable.”

And even at reasonable rents — a newly renovated, one-bedroom suite is $508 — Dix is generating revenue.

“If you get the formula right, you can do it full-time — I’m living proof of that.”

True, he could be making more cash building single-family homes, but money isn’t everything, Dix said.

“At some point you have to ask yourself, ‘how much is enough?’”

Of course, it hasn’t been all easy.

Roadblocks appeared in the form of zoning, permits and more.

“These are individuals who realize something has to be done, they just haven’t got there yet,” Dix said of local government staff. “I’d like to see more of a co-ordinated effort between the different levels of government and the societies out there to give those in the private sector one place to look for information.”

This would streamline the process for like-minded developers.

“Our long-range planners are working with Social Planning Cowichan right now,” said Tom Anderson, manager of development services at the CVRD.

Anderson said district bylaws have allowed for small suites and secondary suites for years, but lot sizes, water and sewer capabilities, and acceptability within the community also have to be considered.

“Social Planning’s affordable housing strategy directorate provided us with some really good information on the state of affordable housing within the Cowichan region and they’ve also got some very interesting ideas,” Anderson added.

“We’ll definitely be looking at all of those options and we may amend our bylaws to allow for more affordable housing in the areas we have jurisdiction over.”

Your thoughts on affordable housing wanted

You’ve heard about the problems and some of the solutions — now Social Planning Cowichan’s affordable housing strategy directorate wants to know what you think.

An affordable housing survey is available at www.socialplanningcowichan.org (click on the “affordable housing” tab) or call 250-746-1004 ext 249 to fill it out over the phone.

The data will be used in a report for the CVRD, North Cowichan and Duncan, and the directorate is looking for as many responses as possible.

By Krista Siefken - Cowichan News Leader Pictorial
Published: May 19, 2010 10:46 AM Admitting there’s a problem is the first step in solving it.

Cowichan agrees it has a problem: affordable housing.

Whether it’s a double-income family, a senior on a fixed pension, or a single mom, Cowichanians are finding it harder and harder to find safe, affordable, available housing.

The ripples are far-reaching. Line-ups at local food banks are getting longer. The job market has become significantly more competitive.

Now it’s time to talk solutions.

“There are solutions,” promised Geri Sera, project co-ordinator for Social Planning Cowichan’s affordable housing strategy.

“And we want to open doors to those solutions.”

The trouble, Sera said, is that often zoning bylaws in the Cowichan Valley Regional District, North Cowichan and Duncan are not conducive to affordable housing projects.

“Our job is to bring to the attention of planners and electoral tables how other municipalities and regions have re-written some of their zoning bylaws to facilitate affordable housing.”

As it stands, many who attempt to put in a second suite or unit are being stonewalled.

“The planners say, ‘Well we’re looking at where you sit on the water table and what the septic system requirements currently are, and we’re sorry, but if you put all those together you’re not going to get secondary suite approval.’”

Sera admits old septic tanks and other issues like these are legitimate concerns — but there are legitimate solutions to overcome them.

“We have to facilitate the zoning and bylaws so (developers) can choose from what we call a buffet table of options,” she said.

Social Planning Cowichan’s Affordable Housing in the Cowichan Valley document and its appendix outline more than two-dozen ways Cowichanians can create more affordable housing.

Everything from secondary suites to waived fees for affordable-housing developers is covered in the documents.

They’re all viable solutions, said Sera, but first zoning bylaws need to be reviewed and possibly amended.

Mike Dix, an affordable-housing developer, said an overall affordable-housing policy at the local government level is a good first step.

“Hand-in-hand with the policy should be flexibility in the bylaws to create incentives for the private sector to build or convert affordable housing,” he said.

“Once you’ve got that all in place, you can hit the second piece, which is awareness in the private sector — an awareness that yes, you can make a reasonable return.”

Press Release: May 30, 2010

“Private Sector Takes Lead in Addressing Affordable Housing Crisis”

Michael Dix, founder and President of Affordable Holdings & Associates, is pleased to announce the opening of Cedardale Apartments, located at 3649 Cedardale Road in Cobble Hill. Targeted primarily at folks with limited income and single-parent families, Phase 1 of this development is now fully tenanted.

“We could have filled these units five-times over”, says Lorette Tardiff, VP Property Management for the organization. “This building used to be an underutilized, old and ugly commercial space, but it has been reborn as a modern and attractive place which is now home to seven less-advantaged families and individuals.”

Based on the organization’s observations over the last 10 years, there is an increasing lack of affordable rental housing in the Cowichan Valley. “We believe our organization fills a unique void in the valley. We are not a society or charity, and we are not a government agency. We regard ourselves as a ‘for-reasonable-profit’ private sector provider of affordable rental housing, and we are living proof that the private sector can have a significant role to play”, says Dix.

The lack of affordable housing is getting more attention now that Social Planning Cowichan has increased the visibility of this issue. Their Affordable Housing Directorate has presented the statistics and raised the awareness of the challenges faced by disadvantaged and low-income folks. “It is time for the local community and local government to take action to help solve the affordable housing issue”, says Dix. “In our view, it is important to integrate the disadvantaged into the local residential communities. If done appropriately, there can be significant benefits to all stakeholders. At the end of the day, our goal at Affordable Holdings & Associates is to create a win/win outcome for the tenants, the local community, our investors, and for our organization”.

‘The local community can be part of the solution to the affordable housing crisis,” says Dix. “ I encourage local citizens to become informed about the challenges of affordable housing and to become part of the solution. First, by accepting that NIMBY’ism is not an appropriate response. Second by encouraging the CVRD to take a leadership role in adopting favourable affordable rental housing policies (such as flexible zoning, permits, and taxation). And finally, by participating in our Circle of Life program that provides the necessary capital funding for more affordable housing projects (information at www.AffordableHoldings.com). Working together and taking action now, really can make an immediate difference.

Affordable Holdings & Associates is a privately owned business that specializes in revitalizing real estate for the benefit of tenants, the local community, investors, and the organization. For further information please refer to their websites at www.AffordableHoldings.com and www.AffordableRentals.ca.