Affordable housing is a challenge shared by communities across British Columbia, and the Comox Valley is no exception. While there is no easy solution to address it, the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) believes its new approach offers a practical way forward.
The Scope of the Problem
A 2024 housing needs assessment confirmed that the affordability crisis is widespread across the Comox Valley. One in five households in the region spends more than 30 per cent of its income on housing, leaving many young adults, single parents, and seniors struggling to make ends meet. According to CVRD Board Chair Will Cole-Hamilton, the issue is urgent. “Most people have a colleague, friend, or family member who struggles with housing affordability, and it affects them in many ways, beyond just financial,” he says. “Rental rates are simply out of reach for a growing share of our community and we’re seeing the impacts in a variety of ways.”
The CVRD’s most recent housing assessment projected that approximately 2,500 non-market (or subsidized) housing units are needed now, with that number growing to approximately 4,000 by 2040.
A New Housing Authority for the Comox Valley
In response, the CVRD board is creating a new purpose-driven housing authority focused on the creation of affordable rental housing. Traditionally, local governments have influenced housing through regulation: zoning bylaws, development rules, and policies on short-term rentals or accessory dwellings. But the CVRD is joining a growing list of communities that are going a step further to facilitate more affordable housing.
Working within the CVRD boundaries in both rural and urban areas, the new housing authority, expected to be formed in 2026, will create a vehicle to coordinate, collaborate, and partner with non-profit housing developers in order to address needs and gaps in the creation of new housing projects.
Part of its mandate will be to identify available land and develop an inventory of potential new housing sites, in some cases through partnerships with faith groups, government agencies, or other organizations in the community.
The new authority will be focused on supporting existing non-profit housing developers, such as the Comox Valley Affordable Housing Society (CVAHS), with land access and pre-development costs, two major barriers that slow down the creation of affordable housing. The CVRD’s approach is meant to complement, not compete with or duplicate, the efforts of organizations like CVAHS. “There are a few clear gaps that aren’t being filled by any other organization or government, and that’s our focus for this work,” Chair Cole-Hamilton says.
By supporting non-profits with early-stage project costs such as architectural drawings and geotechnical studies—which can total as much as $250,000—the CVRD believes they will be able to put local housing organizations in a much stronger position to secure the tens of million of dollars up for grabs through federal and provincial housing programs.
By working closely with agencies such as BC Housing, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and Build Canada Homes, the CVRD hopes to put the region in a better position. “Our goal,” Chair Cole-Hamilton says, “is to ensure more of those big funding announcements for new affordable housing projects are happening here.”
How It Will Be Funded
The work of the housing authority will be funded through a new CVRD service approved earlier this year. The board has approved an annual budget of around $800,000 to cover staffing, project support and other costs. This equates to approximately $30 per year in property taxes for the average home in the Comox Valley.
Chair Cole-Hamilton calls the move a “bold step” for the region. “We can’t sit back idly and think this issue will resolve itself,” he says. “Action is required by all three levels of government, and we know from the experience of other regions that our work and modest investment can help attract federal and provincial funding to get more affordable and attainable housing built.”
Learn more about the CVRD’s affordable housing initiatives at comoxvalleyrd.ca.
