ASK Salt Spring: Answered - Nejmah Guermoudi - Housing issues

Episode Date: May 1, 2023

Okay, I'm here with Nejma Gamudi, who is a LCC candidate, local community council candidate. She is also on the Housing Action Program Task Force for the LTC, and she is the founder of Green Ground Community Design. Yes. Hi. Hi. That was an interesting meeting we had with Ask Salt Spring. Lots of interesting points came up.

I thought your, well, what you started out by saying was that we know what we need to do as far as housing goes on Salt Spring Island, but we're just talking in circles yeah to speak to that um you know i mean historically we know that our community has put a lot of energy time resources tax dollars even into um different uh groups and advisory boards around housing we have housing needs assessments that are done through CRD as well about around Salt Spring we have our housing action program task force we have other reports that are done we have a whole shelf of reports that are that are done that somewhat inform the Salt

Spring solutions white paper that they just released as well. So it's about taking actually all of this talk now, and I really do feel like it's time to act. And what that looks like is complex for sure when we have so many siloed organizations and government structures in place right now. So what do you think, I mean, it's a very wide topic, but what is the essential thing that needs to happen now?

Well, I think that community needs to mobilize around the things that are important to us. And when I say that, I mean our organizations, our NGOs, our associations, individuals who care, private landowners, we need the glue. We need the glue to connect us. And that glue, you know, I mean, some may not feel that this is the right way, but truly, when it comes to housing, we do require an entity that can help guide, advocate, and support our community, including our government officials in making the right decisions and pushing through on the issues that are most important to us so we can get housing built and create a sustainable, diverse community. Is that a housing authority as such, do you think? Yeah, I think authority is a strong word.

And at this point, it could be considered an entity. And not to create another silo, but this entity would be made up of community groups and individuals. It would be made up of a board that would help to guide and keep accountable our government officials as they process applications, as they look at zoning, they look at density, they look at the issues that are kind of getting

in the way of our sustainable progress that considers the climate and also considers our social needs as a community. And I know that funding is always the issue for a lot of this kind of thing, particularly these building projects, and I think you talked about an accelerator fund that might be available for people can you tell me a little bit more about that yeah absolutely that is through the CMHC which is the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation which is administering the funds through the National Housing Strategy which came out of the act when the federal government acknowledged that housing is a major issue and is a right and needed to create more access to funds and programs

that can help realize communities' housing dreams, the way in which we shelter ourselves and feel a part of a thriving community. So this particular fund needs to go to a government entity that is, you know, mandated to manage land use planning specifically. And so that would require the Islands Trust to step up for this, which at the last trust meeting, LTC meeting, I did encourage and ask Laura Patrick in particular to put it on the agenda as at least get the conversation going because there needs to be some staff energy put towards this because the application actually comes up in July, I think, or end of June, I'm not sure. So it's very, it's coming up fast. But what's really cool about our community is because we've been talking the talk for so long and doing these reports, so we know we have a very good foundational knowledge of what needs to be done right now we you know we've got a lot of community effort has already gone into that piece and that is actually a really big part of the the application process

is to have those pieces already in place which we do and requires at least seven community projects that this accelerated fund would support and that can be a housing development especially if it's run as a pilot project so we're looking at closed loop systems around wastewater management we're looking at you know development techniques on close to riparian areas like there you know pilot projects can look at those kinds of things. So then we're actually informing how we go forward as we continue to develop in a sustainable and like, you know, less of a climate impact way. So not only for specific projects that have already come so far in our community, and we've all invested so much in them, such as the land bank properties, such as, you know,

there's already been a lot of public funds that have gone and community like private donations and land transferring hands for minimal, you know, for less than really what they were worth in a private market, right? So we have to consider how much our community has already given for community and utilize those projects, ideas, papers, reports to implement these projects and I don't have my list right now but I do have a pretty solid seven starter projects that fall into line and can move us forward and one of them being you know looking at the the creation of an entity that can that can help be a land holding for our community as well as being you know an advocate for land

owners and tenants and also towards the end of supporting staff in government when they're feeling overburdened because there's so much to be done right now. So finding ways that we can create avenues to support staff with these applications that are coming across their desks that are quite time-consuming. So the fund, what kind of money are we talking about? It's presumably a multi-million dollar fund.

Would it really just scratch the surface here on Salt Spring or would we be able to get these seven projects up and running, do you think? I think that we could actually get these seven projects up and running and also at that point then you're looking at partnership with provincial funds as well in that sense. So with that accelerator fund, if we were successful as a community, then we can, you know, look to BC Housing and through the Housing Hub program, they have other multiple programs for investment in communities and community land projects. So

also, as you know, I mentioned, you know, looking at a community investment trust as an option, like real estate investment trust. So creating opportunities for equity building that's like a low barrier access to the ability to invest in real estate. And I'm not talking about sky rises in Toronto, which is what REITs are usually used for now, but I'm talking about rural land-based projects and just eco-project projects that help to house our workers

their families as well as our our seniors those who you know maybe even on you know any kind of income assistance disability but actually have some initiative and drive to give back in some way it's about creating opportunity and you know and then I guess that kind of leads into the Habitat for Humanity model and talking about sweat equity and what that is and how you build pride in a community and pride and ownership when people put in the effort and they learn and they have an opportunity to develop some skills so we. So we had talked about doing a tiny home build project where it's worker training and everybody gets to go through.

You learn a little bit of carpentry, plumbing, electrical. You're learning all the pieces, and then out of that, potentially someone may end up kind of being like, wow, I was really good at this one when we went through this kind of training program. And also that they're kind of working towards, you know, that, and then those sweat equity hours actually become like, say, a down payment towards their tiny home or a down payment or their, you know, buying into this community investment trust as well with these funds that can actually come through. There's a lot of government-funded training programs,

so then you're looking at ways that, you know, even in governance, we all know that we need a hand up, not a hand out. So, yeah, more about the opportunities. Right. Now, there was some numbers being bandied around. Eric, I think, talked about 3,000 units being needed on Salt Spring, possibly more. And Stan talked about 500. It's obviously a big number. I mean, probably somewhere in between that would be great. But it's quite a daunting prospect, isn't it, to try and figure out how to actually get this moving so that we can actually get some you know rental housing for particularly for

workforce people um and you know how on earth do we do that it's um it it seems to be everybody like you say everybody's talking around it but um getting the shovels in the ground is is very difficult isn't it yeah it can, and we have to watch, especially when we're talking things out in circles, like how we put numbers out there, you know, and how we all have our different perspective of seeing things. He also was projecting in the direction of a Martha's Vineyard type community. So it's like if that's where he's seeing this projection

of we're going to need 3,000 to 5,000 homes for the workers that are going to. I mean, honestly, that's such a large number. And actually, if you look at the housing needs assessment just recently put out by the CRD, I think it was 2021, he is ballooning numbers. And of course, I mean, from a real estate and developer perspective, which is who he is in our community, I can see how he would love to see those numbers in that sense.

But realistically, and what the data shows is that even within the next 20, I think it's 20 years, I wish I had the actual number because I don't want to spread misinformation, but it's not. So Stanley, who actually sits on the housing task force with me as well, we know that that's not true. That's not what the data currently is showing us is where we're heading. Okay. So this is a conversation that's going to continue, obviously.

I know that Salt Spring Solutions is coming to Ask Salt Spring, I think, on the 26th of May. And in the meantime, what are you going to be doing? Obviously, you're running for the LCC. What do you see your next move of pushing forward on the housing issue? Well, I'm really inspired actually to start to collaborate with the groups that are pro-solution and pro-action, right? So it was really great to meet Paige, who's our new president of the Chamber of Commerce today, and just to feel her determination to really start working towards solutions here.

So I think where I'm at is I'm just going to actually look fully, deeply into the application process around the Housing Accelerator Fund, even though it's an Islands Trust job. They must be the primary applicant, but as a community community we can still support them in developing the application. And that's going to require all the different projects to step into it. So I feel that I'll likely be calling a meeting probably by mid-May to potentially host here at the Creator Space, surrounding just for the organization specifically that would be the stakeholders, all of the stakeholders in these different projects

that would need to be represented and connected to our primary applicant, which needs to be the Islands Trust. And how optimistic are you that we will actually get this done? You know, I mean, it beats not doing anything, I suppose, right? um it's all about initiative and if as long as i'm just keeping a positive attitude and i'm able to prove the path and you know show a map um you know i i'm confident that uh that we're gonna get this right we're gonna do it okay well thanks very much for coming in i appreciate talking to you absolutely thank you so much for asking me it's a pleasure bye-bye