City of Courtenay Official Community Plan - 2026 update

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POLICY FOUNDATION: UNDERSTANDING AFFORDABILITY

As a public service entity, the City’s affordability objectives are broad and long range. The City of Courtenay is financially prudent when planning municipal services for residents and businesses, as part of supporting lower household costs. A key assumption of the OCP is that effective climate action will ensure the safety, wellbeing and prosperity of the community. The City seeks to prevent costs related to flooding, wildlfires, droughts and related food shortages. By building resilience and taking climate action today, the City can continue to support a high quality of life into the future. A holistic definition of sustainability is embraced throughout the OCP, recognizing that the ability for present and future generations to meet their economic and social needs within healthy and sustainable ecological systems must be achieved by positively reinforcing economic, social, and ecological systems rather than putting them in conflict with one another. Cost of municipal services: Municipal asset management studies show that compact and focused forms of community growth are less costly in the long run because costs for municipal services can be shared among a greater number of users. This has a direct impact on property taxes, the dominant source of municipal revenue. Cost of housing: The City of Courtenay's 2024 Housing Needs Report shows that unaffordability remains the largest contributor to Core Housing Need, with the gap between income purchasing power and actual house prices widening. Key affordability factors that are embedded within the policies of the OCP include:

There is a higher prevalence of households experiencing Core Housing Need among renters, single individuals, lone parents, Indigenous households, refugees, and transgender or non-binary persons. Meeting the demand for a range of affordable housing options is crucial. The primary strategy to increase housing affordability is to support increases in supply by allowing more units throughout the entire city, with highest densities being focused into targeted growth centres. The addition of small-scale multi-unit housing zoning intends to increase the units permitted and being delivered. Cost of transportation: Personal vehicle ownership is the second-greatest household cost for most Canadians after housing. Options that reduce dependence on a personal vehicle can significantly lower household costs. More compact and focused community growth and development can make more transportation options viable such as convenient transit services, cycling, and walking. In addition, roads, parking, and bridges that prioritize vehicles is more expensive for a local government to provide per trip than walking, cycling, and transit infrastructure. Cost of energy: The cost of fossil fuels such as natural gas, diesel, and gasoline tends to rise and fall over time and is influenced by global markets, supply disruptions, and changes in demand. In Canada, people have experienced periods where fuel and heating costs are noticeably higher than in the past, especially during times of economic change or global instability. Because energy prices

City of Courtenay Official Community Plan