PEMBERTON, BC — The Village of Pemberton Council has officially adopted a new Housing Strategy aimed at addressing housing needs across the whole housing spectrum. The strategy, adopted during the November 5, 2024 Regular Council Meeting, serves as a guiding framework to ensure all Pemberton residents have access to diverse and appropriate housing options for every stage of life.
The Housing Strategy was developed from April to October 2024, involving extensive collaboration between Village Council, staff, consultants, and residents through community engagement sessions. This input helped shape the strategy’s overarching vision and framework, based on six core principles:
- Choice and Accessibility: Ensuring Pemberton residents have a variety of housing options for all stages of life.
- Balanced Trade-offs: Acknowledging that trade-offs are necessary to deliver diverse housing options.
- Responsible Growth: Managing development to align with community needs and long-term sustainability.
- Proactive Compliance: Meeting current and emerging provincial legislative requirements.
- Collaborative Solutions: Leveraging partnerships to enhance housing options.
- Long-Term Planning: Taking action now to address future housing needs proactively.
As an action-oriented framework that is used to address housing challenges at present and into the future, the Housing Strategy provides tools and directions that can be actioned and monitored.
The strategy includes regular monitoring and reporting of activities and initiatives to ensure actions are being completed and are positively impacting community housing needs. Monitoring and analysis is recommended annually to help guide the Village’s response to housing needs, allowing for considerations to changes in the housing market and opportunities to adjust priority housing types to target needs that are not being met.
The 2024 Village of Pemberton Housing Strategy is completed with work funding by the federal government through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF). In March of 2024, the Village was awarded an agreement to receive up to $2.7million in grant funding to support completion of a housing action plan that will permit nearly 100 new housing units above the current growth trends. The completion of the Housing Strategy satisfies one of eight initiatives to be completed as part of the HAF program.
Community members are invited to review the new Housing Strategy on the Village of Pemberton website.
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Quotes
“Housing diversity is essential to fostering a thriving and sustainable community, and the need in Pemberton is clear. Our Housing Needs Assessment underscored this urgency, highlighting both affordability challenges and the limited availability of diverse housing options within our community. This new Housing Strategy represents a significant step toward addressing these issues, setting out clear actions to protect, provide, and support housing needs for all current and future Pemberton residents.” — Mike Richman, Village of Pemberton Mayor
“The Government of Canada is committed to work in partnership with local governments to get the housing they need built faster. The Housing Accelerator Fund partnership with the Village of Pemberton is helping fast track almost a hundred additional new homes in Pemberton over the next few years, and almost two thousand additional homes over the next decade. This investment is creating the conditions for a range of housing types from rental, to co-ops, to missing middle to supply the diverse range of housing that families are seeking in this community, while proactively planning for infrastructure and launching an e-permitting system.” — Patrick Weiler, Member of Parliament for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country
About the Village of Pemberton
Incorporated in 1956, the Village of Pemberton spans approximately six square kilometres and is home to over 3400 residents and a vibrant business and agricultural community. Servicing as a municipal government, the Village of Pemberton is led by an elected Council and managed by an executive team responsible for various municipal services including, planning and development, park operations, recreation facilities and amenities, public utilities, bylaws and enforcement, emergency services, fire rescue, fiscal planning and financial services, legislative services, human resources, communications, and the administration of the Pemberton’s Official Community Plan.
About Pemberton, British Columbia
Located in the Coast Mountain range of British Columbia below the rugged peak of Mount Currie, Pemberton is known for its access to outdoor recreation and stunning mountain vistas. Situated on the unceded traditional territory of the Líl̓wat Nation, Pemberton honours the language, culture and history of the Lil̓wat7ul. Pemberton offers residents and visitors an authentic mountain culture with easy access to outdoor recreation including extensive hiking and biking trails and year-round backcountry adventure as well as local lodging, shopping, dining and arts and culture.
Media Contact
Michelle Fernandes
Communications and Engagement Advisor
Village of Pemberton
Email: communications@pemberton.ca
Phone: 604-815-9672