A proposed affordable housing development in Parksville will be granted 100 per cent exemption from paying the Regional District of Nanaimo sewer development cost charges.
The Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society plans to purchase and develop properties on Moilliet Street South and the Alberni Highway that will provide 87 new units, featuring eight three-bedroom townhouses and a 79-unit apartment building for low-to-moderate income seniors, persons with disabilities and multi-generational families.
RELATED: Parksville city council approves development permit for 87 housing units
Of the the 87 units being proposed, 77 units meet the criteria as affordable housing and the requirements stipulated in Bylaw No. 1577 for 100 per cent exemption from sewer DCCs. It will amount to $434,000 the RDN will not be collecting and will be recovered from other new developments in Parksville Qualicum Beach that plans to use the regional district sewer services.
The RDN’s committee of the whole on May 11 endorsed the exemption for recommendation to the RDN board for approval.
The RDN and member municipalities charge DCCs on new developments to subsidize capital costs of providing services such as sewer, water, roads and parkland. Under the Local Government Act, the RDN may exempt DCCs for not-for-profit rental housing.
The NAHS has been a registered non-profit society for 30 years. It owns and operates 17 properties that house 750 low- and moderate-income residents. It receives subsidies for capital and rent from the provincial government, which will help fund the proposed development at 360, 364, and 368 Moilliet Street South and 371, 383 and 389 Alberni Highway.
The City of Parksville already approved an affordable housing agreement with NAHS at its council meeting on March 1, 2021.