40% of households in Burnaby (and increasing) are renters, yet the city has destroyed 15% of it’s more affordable purpose-built rental apartments and has 2000 fewer purpose-built rental apartments today than 25 years ago while the city has grown substantially. Rent is unaffordable for many residents and the city can play a direct role in solving this.
Triple the number of purpose-built rental homes in Burnaby by 2050 to 40,000
20% of all housing in Burnaby will be non-market rental by 2050
15%+ of all housing in Burnaby, over 30,000 homes, will be publicly owned and operated non-market rental through Burnaby Housing Authority by 2050
Utilize the Burnaby Housing Authority to develop an efficient, repeatable construction model than can be rapidly scaled to deliver and operate 1500+ new non-market rental homes annually across the city
Direct the Burnaby Housing Authority to use a cross-subsidy model with a variety of rents to be able to operate without ongoing subsidies
Partner with the provincial and federal government where feasible to provide for increased affordability
Stop destruction of existing affordable purpose-built rental homes
Burnaby has destroyed 15% of it’s rental housing and now has 2,000 less purpose built rental homes than 25 years ago
Never sell public land! Keep city land for public benefit instead of private profit
Halt the sale of city properties by Royal Oak Stn and instead have Burnaby Housing Authority build city non-market rental housing
Allow up to 6 storeys for non-market rental housing on residential land
Allow flexibility with townhomes, low-rise apartments and other housing forms up to 4 storeys in all residential areas for more family housing options
Eliminate minimum parking requirements for purpose-built rental
Save renters ~$300 per month in new rental buildings if they don’t own a car as each parkade space costs $50,000-$100,000+ to build
Concrete for each parkade space uses over 17 tons GHG emissions, equivalent to the annual emissions of over 3 Burnaby residents, allowing a massive sustainability benefit by not requiring excess parking
~50% of parking in multi-family buildings currently goes unused
Current requirements for accessible, visitor and bike parking as well as loading areas may remain
Provide transparency and assurance for renters during redevelopment
Operate the Tenant Assistance Policy/Bylaw within Burnaby’s Renter’s Office, paid for by developers, ensuring tenant assistance through developer bonds, liens against property, etc
Ensures a single point of contact for both renters and developers to quickly address issues and ensure requirements are being met
Strengthen tenant protections for secondary rentals and small rental buildings
Expand pre-approved building designs for quick permitting of a range of multiplexes, townhouses, and small apartments, including many designs for pre-fabrication or modular construction to allow economies of scale for enable greater affordability and faster construction
