1. NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT HOUSING PROGRAMS
At the beginning of April, Northern Development announced a new suite of Housing Programs aimed at assisting local governments in our service region to address their housing challenges.
Why are we doing this?
For multiple years, board directors and staff have heard anecdotal information about the need for improved housing in communities throughout central and northern B.C., and how housing, which was at one time considered a secondary market-driven component of a local area economy, has become an impediment to economic growth.
In the past the Trust did support housing development through the Revitalization Tax Exemption Early Lump Sum Benefit program and the ‘Dollars to the Door’ program in Prince George and Logan Lake. The Trust has also financially supported housing needs assessments in several communities, notably Fort St. James and Vanderhoof, though those grant approvals were exceptions to program policy.
The board has debated in the past the question of whether the Trust should provide any funding for housing at all, and instead let the market and other agencies such as BC Housing address these regional needs. More recently, the board agreed in its discussions that the lack of adequate, available housing is a hurdle that has limited economic growth in communities across the region and therefore some housing projects may fit within the mandate of the Trust.
Given the complexity of the housing sector and its challenges across the Trust’s service area, our board adopted the following policy for supporting future housing projects:
‘Northern Development Initiative Trust can assist with the development of housing in partnership with communities where the current housing stock has become a barrier to economic growth.’
What does this look like?
HOUSING PROGRAMS

2. Housing Needs Assessment Program
This program provides one-time grant funding to local governments for the development of a comprehensive housing needs assessment that covers the entire community and meets the requirements of the Local Government Statutes (Housing Needs Reports) Amendment Act.
Up to $200,000 will be accessible on a yearly basis between 2019 and 2021, with one-time funding available to eligible local governments up to $10,000 to a maximum of 50 per cent of the project budget. Without a Housing Needs Report, local governments cannot proceed with the building of any new residential developments. Access to these funds will help to offset the cost of completing that report.
Funding applications for this program will be accepted on an on-going basis until the program allotment has been committed.

3. Community Planning for Housing Program
This program provides grant funding for municipalities and regional districts to assist with the cost of hiring one, contract staff position to assess the community’s housing needs over a 12-month period.
The Trust commits to one placement per regional development area for a total of $160,000 annually, with local governments eligible to receive up to $40,000 from Northern Development to assist with the cost of the hire. The host community is required to provide at least $10,000 towards a minimum base salary of $50,000, including statutory benefits and vacation days or pay.
Preference will be given to collaborative applications where multiple communities have equal access to the planner.
Program applications must be submitted by midnight on May 10, 2019 to be eligible for funding consideration.

4. Northern Housing Incentive Program
This program provides grant funding to local governments to create a “Dollars to the Door” program by incentivizing private sector housing developments. Local governments are eligible to receive a grant up to $10,000 per dwelling, created in a multi-unit housing project to a maximum contribution of $200,000.
In late 2017, Northern Development partnered with the City of Prince George to expand the City’s Multi-Family Housing Incentives Program, which is very similar to this initiative.
Applications for this program will be received on a quarterly basis, with the next intake on May 10, 2019.

5. Video slide
We understand that this type of three step program can be somewhat daunting. To assist our clients with the process, we created this “how-to” video that takes the applicant through the process step-by-step. This is a pilot project that we undertook for the suite of new housing programs. If it is well received, we will consider creating videos for our other programs.

6. QUESTIONS?