Chemainus Residents Association

Category: Housing

  • Free Secondary suites workshop offered by CRA

    A free workshop offered by the Chemainus Residents Association will take participants step by step through the process of planning and building a secondary suite.

    Secondary suites can be a win-win-win for homeowners, renters, and communities looking for ways to address the affordable housing crisis.

    So the Chemainus Residents Association—with funding from the Rotory Club of Chemainus—is teaming up with the Municipality of North Cowichan, representatives from the building trades, and financial advisors to present Secondary Suites: Getting Started, an October 24 evening workshop that will cover the basics and let participants ask questions.

    Affordability affects renters and homeowners alike, and legal suites—Additional Dwelling Units is the official terminology in North Cowichan—offer relief both ways: for renters, they increase the availability of quality housing; for homeowners, they are a source of income to help meet the escalating expenses of buying and maintaining a property.

    “Providing affordable housing options is essential for the health of communities like Chemainus,” CRA Chair Kristi Hagen said. Without a stock of affordable housing, workers can’t find places to live, and businesses suffer because residents are spending so much of their income on accommodation. “That’s a lose-lose,” Hagen said.

    Although the free workshop is being organized by the CRA, it is open to anyone in the North Cowichan region who wants to attend.

    Workshop speakers, beginning with North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas, will present information about what homeowners need to consider and steps they need to take to get from conception through completion of their projects. They will also outline municipal bylaw and procedural changes being implemented to make it easier to get ADUs approved and built.

    For the last half-hour, the floor will be open for participants to ask questions.

    “We hope a forum like this will encourage people to consider building secondary suites, adding to our stock of affordable housing,” Hagen said.

    The workshop will be held Oct. 24 at the Chemainus 55+ Activity Centre, 9824 Willow Street, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. More about the CRA is available at chemainusresidents.com/.

  • Can we afford not to have Affordable Housing?

    This 36 minute video captures the key points made by John Horn, executive director of the Cowichan Housing Association, during an April 8, 2021 presentation and dialogue on homelessness, hosted by the Chemainus Residents’ Association.

    John Horn, executive director of the Cowichan Housing Association, said right off the top that $250,000 in operating funding and another $500,000 in capital funding budgeted by the Cowichan Valley Regional District to support affordable housing initiatives, doesn’t sound like a lot.

    “It’s not enough to buy much affordable housing, as you can imagine,” he told participants in an hour long presentation, hosted by the Chemainus Residents’ Association on Zoom April 8. “I think $500,000 is one or two units in today’s market. So it’s really about participating in broader and bigger building schemes.”

    But then he went on to describe how the CHA is leveraging its funding to make low-cost housing solutions available to the homeless and people for who have a place to live, but are facing ‘rent stress’.

    “John Horn has offered many ideas for tackling the housing affordability challenge,” said CRA Chair Bernie Jones after the session. “The Chemainus Residents’ Association will be digesting John’s ideas to see what we can possibly do to address the problem.”

    The 36 minute video above captures the key points made during the meeting.