Richard Froese
South Peace News
Big Lakes County has posted a survey on its website to determine housing needs in the future.
Big Lakes is participating in the Enabling Housing Choice North Project, part of the Rural Development Network’s (RDN) Sustainable Housing Initiative.
The RDN and Big Lakes invites residents to complete the survey to share their insights on the current housing situation, community amenities and community events that matter to them the most.
Responses and comments will be developed into a comprehensive housing strategy to help pave the way for a vibrant and sustainable future, states the post dated March 24.
A community with a wide variety of different dwelling types and sizes in a variety of building forms – diversity – can better meet the housing needs of a greater variety of household types, the post states.
The survey is available on the website at biglakescounty.ca.
Opened on March 17, the survey will close April 14.
Reeve Tyler Airth says the survey is needed.
“Addressing housing needs is crucial to the well-being of our residents and this project will help ensure that we can provide diverse, affordable and sustainable housing options for years to come,” Airth says.
“As part of council’s strategic plan, we are committed to being a place where people want to live and can afford to live, while also fostering sustainable economic growth.”
The survey asks 12 overall, questions, some have more than one part.
- In your opinion, is there housing with enough variety of numbers of bedrooms in Big Lakes County?
- What types of resources are available to help local and newcomers find housing?
- Is there the ability to age in place – retire in Big Lakes?
- What do you feel are the biggest housing challenges facing Big Lakes?
- Do you feel there is enough housing to meet the demand for both locals and newcomers to purchase a home in Big Lakes?
- What types of housing would you like to see for people to purchase in Big Lakes?
- Do you feel there are enough homes for people – locals and/or newcomers – to rent in Big Lakes?
- Do you feel Big Lakes should take action to increase housing diversity in its communities?
- What “red tape” do you feel home builders face when trying to build housing in Big Lakes and how can Big Lakes attract housing development?
- Should incentives be provided by Big Lakes to help encourage housing construction in its communities
Over the project, the RDN has set goals to:
- Identify opportunities for enabling housing choice in Big Lakes through research and analysis.
- Understand what types of housing best serve the needs of the community.
- Increase affordability and availability of diverse housing in Big Lakes.
The EHCN team will research and analyze current bylaws and policies to assess support for housing diversity and promote community engagement.
Through surveys, interviews with developers and local businesses and focus group discussions with employers and residents, the project will collect valuable feedback, he says.
Data collected will be shared with council and partner municipalities to create housing solutions