NRRM receives 2024 Interim Housing Needs Assessment Report

FORT NELSON, B.C. — At their December 9th meeting, Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) council received a presentation on its 2024 Interim Housing Needs Assessment Report, which shows an oversupply of housing. 

Colton Kirsop, Division Manager of Planning for McElhanny Ltd., presented the assessment. 

The report provided summary information about whether housing units are needed to meet the community’s needs in the district. 

“The Housing Needs Assessment Report helps communities better understand their current and future housing needs,” said Kirsop. 

The report showed that the municipality has an oversupply of land designated as urban residential areas.

The report indicated Fort Nelson currently has 21 more housing units than it’s expected to need in the next five years, and 41 more than it’s expected to need in 20 years.

This is due to a projected decrease in the community’s population over the coming years. 

The municipality currently has 413 hectares of land designated as urban residential land. At the meeting, it was proposed that council should leave that amount unchanged.

“That gives [Fort Nelson] a 400-plus-year supply of land based on current trends,” Kirsop explained.

However, his presentation did reveal issues in the development of housing for seniors. 

Kirsop says the senior population is set to increase by 218 per cent over the next 20 years. “Smaller units for a growing number of seniors need to be addressed,” he said.

Housing needs were also identified in areas such as extreme core housing, housing for those experiencing homelessness, and for those experiencing suppressed housing formation.

During the questioning period of the presentation, Councillor Kyle Andrews asked if the age of the houses was taken into consideration.

Kirsop says the conditions and whether the building needs repairs are taken into account. 

Mayor Rob Fraser asked the representative if all the information was accurate, since it used provincial averages, while the NRRM is different from the rest of the province. 

Kirsop says the model is theoretical and intended to help people see the “big picture.”  

“There are some areas where you have big numbers that are negative, but there are only a couple of areas that are highlighted as being relevant to the local population. 

“My gut says that it reflects fairly accurately what I see in the community,” said Fraser. 

The report must be submitted by January 1st, 2025, as part of new legislation passed by the province in November 2023, requiring all municipalities to update their housing needs assessments.

Council resolved to receive and publicly post the report by the December 31, 2025, deadline.

The full December 9th meeting can be viewed below: