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No quick fix in sight for South Cariboo housing crisis

Slow development and high rental prices putting a squeeze on local residents
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Skyrocketing rents, lack of available housing and an aging population in the South Cariboo have created a housing problem with no quick fixes in sight.

The shortage of rental housing is one of five challenges identified in a housing study compiled by the District of 100 Mile House and the Cariboo Regional District.

Other challenges presented in the report include an impending shortage of housing options for downsizing seniors, rapid price increases making getting into the housing market difficult, emerging homelessness issues and a lack of skilled building trades slowing the pace of development and increasing costs to build.

An online survey found that one-third of the respondents were living in inappropriate housing including couch surfing, living in RVs year-round, or in small units with too many people. Some residents say they can’t find housing and others can’t afford it.

The district is looking at the issue.

“There’s a lag time between identifying a need and having that need filled. Too big of a lag time but it takes time for builders and developers to sort of catch up with the demand,” said Joanne Doddridge, economic development officer for the district.

The lack of housing is nothing new.

The housing boom of the last few years has seen rental properties selling like hotcakes with many renters left scrambling to find a new roof over their heads.

“It was insane how quickly things were selling and how many people were coming into the area,” said Ron Kelly, broker/manager at Royal LePage 100 Mile Realty when Free Press spoke to him in 2022.

Renters like J. Brondijk found themselves caught in this situation last year. She and a neighbour were given notice last January that they would have to vacate their units in a 100 Mile four-plex by April 1 as the new owners were moving in, she told Free Press last March.

Brondijk has struggled to find housing in the South Cariboo over the past 20 years. She previously lived at the Parkview Apartments for 12 years, but found herself homeless for nine months before moving into the four-plex. She thankfully was able to find a place to stay rather than ending up back on the streets.

Development is ongoing within 100 Mile House. In addition to the new Heron Ridge subdivision behind Tim Horton’s, there are two new subdivisions underway.

Doddridge said the District is not in the business of building homes, but it can take steps to support housing.

“Doing the study and understanding what the housing situation looks like. In our latest zoning and OCP rewrite we allowed secondary suites in single-family residential neighbourhoods,” she said. “They have to be built with permits and be done properly but we allow that now whereas before it wasn’t allowed in those zones. We did that because it encourages more housing.”

Mayor Maureen Pinkney said this creates a huge opportunity for long-time residents in town. Their homes are empty now and they might only be using half the space. The extra revenue created by renting a portion of the house out can be helpful in allowing them to stay in their homes longer plus there is the reassurance of having somebody else on the property.

The District also allows caretaker suites on industrial sites which may have a secondary purpose in helping to prevent vandalism.

Pinkney said there is a need for provincial support as the cost is so high.

“You want someone to provide low-income housing at a reasonable rate when it costs twice as much as it ever did before to build,” she said. “There has to be the provincial support to subsidize that purchasing and then subsidize probably later on the rent if it’s a rental just to make it affordable. Otherwise, if you’re a developer why would you stick your neck out and do that.”



fiona.grisswell@100milefreepress.net

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Fiona Grisswell

About the Author: Fiona Grisswell

I graduated from the Writing and New Media Program at the College of New Caledonia in Prince George in 2004.
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