The City of Trail’s interim housing needs report shows the community will need 1,185 housing units over the next 20 years.
In 2018, the BC Government passed legislation requiring municipalities to complete a housing needs report identifying existing and projected gaps in housing supply over a five-year period.
The City of Trail completed its report in 2020 as part of a regional assessment drafted by the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary.
However, changes to the legislation implemented in 2023 required the city to publish an “interim” housing needs report by the end of 2024 that considers the 5- to 20-year housing needs.
The interim report revealed that the city will need 460 housing units within the next five years and 1,185 over the next 20.
Of the 460-unit five-year total, 37 are needed to reduce extreme core housing need, which a civic document defines as units that cost more than 50 per cent of a person’s income.
For the next 20 years, that number is 148.
The report further specifies the need for 28 units over the next five years to reduce homelessness, 59 to address suppressed household formation, 259 to meet household growth, five to achieve a rental vacancy rate of three per cent, and 75 units to meet local demand.
Looking ahead 20 years, the city will require 55 units to address homelessness, 235 to reduce suppressed household formation, 431 to meet household growth, 20 to achieve a three per cent rental vacancy rate, and 299 units to satisfy local demand.
To meet these objectives, the city says it will be updating its Official Community Plan and zoning bylaws.
The province has set a deadline for municipalities to complete a “full” housing needs report by December 31, 2028, and every five years thereafter.
The full interim report can be found here.
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