Development That Meets Our Community’s Needs

When I talk about encouraging development, I don’t mean growth simply for the sake of growth. I mean development that responds to real needs in our community.

What happens on the former mill site will largely be determined by Tla’amin Nation and Cranberry Business Park Ltd. I’ve seen a lot of great ideas shared in response to my previous posts, and I’m looking forward to seeing what is proposed for those lands.

Beyond the mill site, one area I would like Powell River to pursue is more housing and care options for seniors.

When I first came here over 20 years ago, Powell River wasn’t quite a retirement community, but it had many of the same characteristics. A few years later, I was part of a second wave of new employees hired at the mill after it had gone many years without a major hiring spree. Those opportunities became available because many lifelong millworkers were reaching retirement age at the same time.

That was quite a few years ago. Many of those same people now require more care than they can receive in their homes and need better options. Although we have some seniors’ facilities, we don’t have nearly enough. Wait lists are long, and unless someone planned years in advance or has substantial savings, their options can be extremely limited.

These are people who helped build our community. Their retirements created opportunities for people like me to secure good jobs, buy homes and provide for our families. Now, many of them need our help.

There is a growing need for appropriate housing and care for seniors, and it isn’t being talked about enough. If we can make lower-cost leased land available to support other forms of housing, why aren’t we seriously exploring similar opportunities for seniors’ housing and care?

I would like to see more focus placed on developments serving people who have spent their lives working, raising families and contributing to this community.

That could include accessible apartments, independent seniors’ housing, assisted living, memory care and additional long-term-care capacity. These developments would allow more residents to remain in their community as they age while also creating construction work and permanent employment in health care, food services, maintenance and other fields.

I would also like us to explore whether more inclusive housing is needed for people with developmental disabilities. My wife and I have been home-share providers through Strive for the past few years, so this is something with which we have personal experience with and care deeply about.

Depending on individual needs, appropriate options could include additional home sharing, supported lower-cost apartments, small staffed homes, more respite housing and housing designed for people with complex needs.

The City doesn’t operate these services, and it can’t create them alone. It can, however, ensure appropriate land is available, adopt flexible zoning, make the approval process more efficient, and work with service providers, senior governments and prospective developers.

Development should accomplish more than putting buildings on land. It should meet real needs, create jobs and help build a community where people of different ages and abilities can continue to live with dignity, connection and support.