On Dec 15th, I attended a focus group with Saanich staff for a presentation, discussion of a new policy they were currently writing for a Tenant Assistance program. (Note, Victoria, Sidney, Vancouver, City of North Vancouver, Burnaby, etc, already have such Tenant Assistance Policies.)
The idea, indeed the potential need for such a policy in Saanich, was mentioned last year by senior Saanich staff during a council discussion on their interim development/zoning policy (aka upzoning policy, which allows for increased heights and density) and which impacts Mount Tolmie by conflicting with local action and area plans including the 2017 Shelbourne Valley Action Plan (SVAP) and 1998 Shelbourne Local Area Plan (LAP). This 2022 council decision remains controversial, as some areas in Saanich have only recently completed updated LAPs.
The stated reason for the new Tenant Assistance Policy was to “help mitigate the potential impacts of tenant displacement as a result of major renovations or redevelopment”. (My interest in attending the meeting on behalf of SCAN (Saanich Community Association Network) came from the knowledge of a Mount Tolmie resident who was evicted last summer along with her teenage daughter and tenant by a developer looking to redevelop a single family home.)
The meeting covered three basic questions:
- Who and what should be covered by the new Saanich Tenant Assistance policy?
Non-market housing, market-rental, secondary housing-rental? - What types of supports should be offered to displaced tenants?
First-right of refusal on renovated, redeveloped property, financial compensation, moving expenses, assistance finding a new home? - And what would a successful policy look like?
As part of their community engagement, Saanich staff were meeting with three groups; non-market housing representatives, community members and market-rental housing representatives. The meeting with community members, who were all renting in Saanich except for myself, was the 2nd of these planned meetings and the only one with community members.
We were told that staff would consider all input received and prepare a new Saanich Tenant Assistance Policy for council by the early Spring. I had received comments from a number of community members before the meeting and was pleased to learn that another community member from Mount Tolmie, whom I did not know, was also in attendance to share her experience in a larger rental property in the area.
See the appendix at the end of this newsletter for more details from the meeting. And, we will forward information on this new, and in my view very important, Saanich Tenant Assistance policy once we have it.
If you have any comments or would like to get involved with housing issues please contact the MTCA: mtcacontacts@gmail.com