Mayoralty candidate Sylvia Bishop has announced another campaign pledge, promising to host a summit meeting to explore and identify policies that will improve the municipality’s stock of affordable housing and rental accommodation.
The summit would have invited guests including academics, economists, community and housing activists, developers as well as “leading Delta residents” and others. It would be held before Jan. 26, 2019. Soon thereafter, the City of Delta’s newly-elected mayor and council will enact new municipal policies to take effect in the early spring, said Bishop.
“I believe that the issues of housing-affordability and access to rental accommodation are increasingly important to a growing number of Delta residents,” said Bishop in a news release.
“That is why I have pledged to host a summit-meeting within the first 100 days of the October 20 local-government elections. We don’t have a moment to lose in coming to grips with what many people have described as a ‘housing crisis’.”
Bishop, a two-term city councillor, also announced that she and her Team Delta slate later this week will release “A Made in Delta Solution: A Research Paper on Affordable Housing and Rental Accommodation.” The paper will offer an overview of the challenges currently facing British Columbians, and especially those who reside in the Lower Mainland and Delta, said Bishop.
Delta’s housing stock is predominately detached single-family, built between 1966 and 1991, when Delta experienced a rapid population increase. During that time, the Agricultural Land Reserve was established, which essentially created an urban containment. Today, there is little undeveloped land available for housing with the exception of the Southlands and Marina Gardens where new homes will be built.
A number of policy recommendations by the city’s housing task force eight years ago were approved by council, including encouraging subdivisions of large single-family lots and allowing secondary suites.
The municipal election will take place Oct. 20.
