It’s time for the city to take the pedal off the metal with the Porter Creek D subdivision proposal, says Coun. Ranj Pillai.
Pillai said in a recent interview that with the real estate market softening, along with a number of private-sector housing initiatives in the hopper, there’s no need to storm ahead with the proposal.
It’s not that he’s opposed to Porter Creek D; it’s just that at this point, it’s more important for the city and the three other levels of government to sit down and discuss a co-ordinated housing strategy, he said.
Pillai said a healthy city needs a healthy housing market.
Whitehorse, said the councillor, is in one of the most unique situations in Canada when it comes to planning for housing.
The city is a player, but so too are two First Nations and the Yukon government, he said.
Pillai said if indeed it’s true that there needs to be a steady inventory of 200 lots available for development to keep the market stable, then there has to be a plan.
The Kwanlin Dun First Nation and the Ta’an Kwach’an Council are both in a position to put up settlement lands for development, he said.
“This is absolutely one of the most unique situations that exists in this country, with the four entities of government, and specifically the power that both First Nation government have been granted within their (land claim) agreements.”
The councillor said if the city goes ahead without consideration of what the other governments might want to provide for housing initiatives, it’s no good for anyone, not for the First Nations and not for the city as a whole.
There are already five phases planned for the new Whistle Bend subdivision, the first of which is scheduled to come on the market this fall, he pointed out.
Before the city starts surveying out lots in the controversial Porter Creek D proposal, Pillai suggested, there needs to be some detailed discussion about who’s planning what, and what opportunities may be more suitable for each government.
The city cannot expect the First Nations to make land available for the housing market without knowing the risk involved from competing interests, he said.
In order to understand the risk, Pillai added, the First Nations need to know the demand, and plans for future supply by everybody involved.
To understand demand, he said, some serious work still needs to be done.
“We need to identify where we need lots, identify which projects are in the works already and identify the capacity to meet the needs.”
It’s not good enough to say just because there are some plans underway for new mines, we need a sprawling inventory of housing lots, the councillor said.
He said as one who comes from three generations of East Coast miners, he knows miners as a rule don’t simply relocate their families to take advantage of five or 10 years of employment halfway across the country.
They fly, he said.
Pillai said there’s no need to look any further than Faro to find an example of what happens when things don’t go the way there were supposed to.
The city, he reiterated, needs a plan – even more so now that the private proposal for residential development in the 140-acre former tank farm is back on the table in a big way, he said.
Having all the players working in isolation of each other does not make for a healthy housing environment, he believes.
Not only is there a need to understand demand, there also needs to be a sound examination of the type of needs, Pillai said.
The councillor said the players need to know what is meant by affordable housing and social housing, and who is best suited to supply those markets.
The cost of new housing after all, Pillai suggested, is beyond the means of many, even with stable employment.
He said in today’s market, if you go with a bare bones price of $100,000 per urban lot, with current construction costs running at $200 to $250 per square foot, even a modest home these days is going to come at $400,000-plus.
The time, energy and money being directed to the proposed Porter Creek D development would be better served if it was directed at building a housing strategy – for everybody, he said.
A huge and passionate debate was stirred up last year by the proposal for the Porter Creek D development along with a bridge crossing McIntyre Creek, as an alternative route for Porter Creek residents and future residents of Whistle Bend.
In early December 2011, a 4-3 split decision by city council saw the city approve a $455,000 contract for the pre-design of Porter Creek D and the McIntyre Creek crossing.
Pillai was one of the three dissenting votes. He insisted then as he does now that he is not opposed in principle to the development.
It’s just at this point in time, there’s no need for the city to put its head down and go crashing forward, he said.
In fact, said Pillai, the city may even be doing more harm than good with its Porter D development at this point.
The councillor said he’s been told condominium real estate prices have already fallen five per cent – or $15,000 on a $300,000 home.
Slamming more lots into the inventory may not only be unjustified right now, it could actually tilt the market unfavourably, he said.
Val Smith, the new president of the Yukon Real Estate Association, said in an interview last month the market has softened, though she said at this point, she can’t attach any numbers to indicate how much it’s fallen.
The real estate market is experiencing more of a correction or a rebalancing than anything else following a relatively hot shot over the last 10 years, she insisted.
Smith said the market, just like the Yukon’s economy, is still very stable.