The Village is preparing a Housing Needs Assessment to better understand the current housing situation in the Village and learn more about the types of housing that may be required in the future to meet the varying needs of all residents.
This understanding will not only help to inform the housing component of the Age-Friendly Plan, but will also support the Village, community organizations and builders as they make decisions about existing and future residential development.
The Housing Needs Assessment will look at:
Age-friendly communities support older people to age with dignity, respect and independence, and promote the inclusion of older adults in all areas of community life. Importantly, age-friendly communities are designed to address the needs of all residents.
Canal Flats is anticipated to grow to 1000 full-time residents by 2026. Key to that growth will be ensuring the Village is attractive to people of all ages who can envision living in Canal Flats long-term.
The World Health Organization identified eight key areas of community life in which communities can become more age-friendly:
Engagement and input from current residents, community organizations and health partners, data analysis and information review, as well as best practices research of initiatives other similar communities are undertaking will be used to develop an Age-Friendly Plan for the community.
This Plan will identify key strategies and priorities that the Village and community partners can implement to help support older residents in remaining in their community with appropriate supports and community amenities, services and programs.
The Village has secured grant funding from the Province to undertake both projects. Recent changes to provincial legislation mean that all municipalities are now required to prepare a Housing Needs Assessment. The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) has provided funding for the Village to prepare the Assessment that meets provincial requirements.
More information on the Housing Needs Assessment program can be found here:
The Village also received funding from UBCM to prepare the Age-Friendly Plan for the community. While the preparation of the Age-Friendly Plan is not required by the Province, it is an important priority for the Province and Village to ensure strategies are in place to support age-friendly communities to address challenges and opportunities related to an aging population.
More information on Age-Friendly Communities is available here:
Both projects will be complete by March 2021. Because the Housing Needs Assessment will play a role in informing the housing components for the Age-Friendly Plan, it is anticipated that it will be complete this fall.
Engagement for both projects will occur at key milestones over the next several months
Feedback from residents and stakeholders will be key to the development of both the Housing Needs Assessment and Age-Friendly Plan.
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on housing needs in the Village. The engagement summary of what residents and stakeholders shared can be viewed here.