Surrey looks to explore affordable housing 'to retain and recruit' essential workers

Surrey City Coun. Doug Elford. Photo by RICHARD LAM /PNG

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A Surrey city councillor is putting forward an idea to attract more police officers and health-care workers to the city: build affordable homes near where they work.

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Coun. Doug Elford proposed a motion at Monday’s council meeting to consider the feasibility of building housing specifically designated for essential workers, such as those in health care and public safety.

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“Particularly because we want to be able to retain and recruit,” Elford said before the meeting on Monday. “If we can provide some sort of housing for the professionals — the police, the fire, our teachers — it attracts them, it allows for better recruitment, because we’re kind of recruiting against everybody for these positions.”

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Elford pointed to similar projects done in other municipalities, such as the Kiwanis Village West development in West Vancouver.

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The two-building project of 156 rental homes welcomed residents earlier this year, with a mission to house individuals and families who work in the municipality. According to a recent news release, the space is primarily occupied by teachers and first-responders.

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Applicants were required to have lived or worked in West Vancouver prior to living at Kiwanis Village, with rental prices at 75 per cent of the average market level.

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Elford’s motion passed unanimously on Monday, but not without debate and changes.

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Mayor Brenda Locke pointed to issues with the specific types of workers Elford wants to prioritize for the housing.

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“My guess is that some of those individuals are comparatively well compensated, especially when you take into account their compensation package. And I’m thinking of other people, like people that are working in our city,” Locke said.

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“Where I struggle with this is to just make it specific to certain groups, so health care and public safety — and I understand those are extraordinarily important people in our community — but there are people in our community who are struggling. They are all part of the economy in Surrey.”

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Elford agreed that compensation should be considered for tenants. An amendment was made to include more essential workers, such as teachers and daycare workers.

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Coun. Harry Bains also asked for staff to report on how many new workers could come to Surrey if the workforce housing plan went ahead.

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The motion asks city staff to report on the topic in September. If the plan passes in the fall, Elford says it makes the most sense to go to the federal government for funding.

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“It has been supported and endorsed in other municipalities. We’re not really re-inventing the wheel,” he said.