Prince George City Council is eyeing opting out of the province’s Short-Term Accommodation Act.
Councillor Trudy Klassen and Brian Skakun brought forward the issue at tonight’s (Monday) meeting.
Klassen and Skakun issued a notice of motion with the following recommendation:
“That Council directs staff to seek feedback from our tourism and housing sectors to prepare options for response, including the option to “Opt-Out” of the provincial Short-Term Accommodation Act so as to be prepared to respond as soon as the option to do so becomes available.”
“We’ve gotten many letters from people highlighting the benefits of short-term rentals for our healthcare workers, for other professionals who need that kind of lodging so that they don’t have to stay in a hotel for a month or two,” Klassen said.
“I think what the province did was just low-hanging fruit,” Skakun added.
“They thought we’re going to be able to take x number of homes out of this industry, put them on the market, and all of a sudden we’re going to have this magic formula where housing’s going to be more affordable.”
Skakun recognized there’s a need for more affordable housing in Prince George.
Under the act, people in communities with more than 10,000 people would not be allowed to buy multiple houses for use as a short-term rental, but they would still be allowed to rent out their primary residence or a basement suite.
In October, Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon estimated 16,000 homes were being taken away from the market.
“The goals of the act are good, we’re facing a housing shortage in the province and the government was looking for ways that would be successful,” Councillor Garth Frizzell noted.
“While the goals are important, the idea of taking a one size fits all approach and having Victoria make a decision about Prince George doesn’t work for me.”
Frizzell noted Prince George could make their own bylaw on the matter.
“The direction to look into how we can opt-out is a good one, because Prince George should be making Prince George, not Victoria.”
Councillor Kyle Sampson called the legislation “half-baked”.
“The province hasn’t released the entirety of the details, how this is going to roll out, what this looks like,” he said.
“They’ve kind of referenced this three per cent vacancy rate, but they haven’t specified if you’re above three per cent vacancy this year, but you’re not next year, do you have to go through this whole process of exemption again.”
Mayor Simon Yu noted there’s currently 281 Airbnb listings in Prince George.
“281 isn’t going to solve the housing problem at all,” he said.
City Manager Walter Babicz noted the legislation isn’t anticipated to come into effect until May of next year, and the City can’t opt out until then.
“It would be challenging for us to come back with any confirmed processes, but we can certainly start to do the early leg work in terms of getting the feedback from stakeholders as indicated in the recommendation and be prepared to comeback to council promptly after the provincial legislation has been enacted,” he said.
Other items discussed tonight included a Council Code of Conduct Bylaw, and borrowing money for several city projects.