Cache Creek Council Meeting Feb 1 2021

A recently-completed Housing Needs Assessment for the Village of Cache Creek has concluded that while the community is still reasonably affordable, it faces several challenges, particularly when it comes to rental availability and affordability and an aging population that will need a different type of housing to what is currently available.

The assessment was carried out by M’akola Development Services and Turner Drake & Partners Ltd. for the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. In addition to Cache Creek, communities participating in the study were the Village of Clinton, the City of Merritt, the districts of Logan Lake and Clearwater, Sun Peaks Resort Municipality, and nine of the TNRD’s 10 electoral areas (municipalities including Ashcroft, Barriere, and Chase) have done their own assessments.

At the Cache Creek council meeting of Feb. 1, Sandy Mackay of M’akola Development presented the assessment’s findings. Each local government will decide how to act on the information in the report to support their communities.

In 2019 the Province mandated that every municipality in B.C. conduct a Housing Needs Assessment by 2022. Once completed, the assessments need to be updated every five years, but Mackay suggested the village look to update it in two-and-a-half years. By then the complete set of data from the 2021 census will be available, enabling the first update to make use of the most current figures. After that he suggested that updates be done every five years, so as to always be using the most recent census figures.

Coun. Sue Peters said it was somewhat unfortunate that the report had to be done using the 2016 census figures, as changes to the community since then, such as the closure of the Cache Creek landfill in 2016, had had an effect on the population.

Cache Creek was deemed “reasonably affordable” in terms of housing, especially for households with moderate to above-moderate incomes. However, housing conditions have worsened for renters, with rental availability a challenge and rents increasing.

Mackay also noted that housing market pressure caused by COVID-19 in places such as the Lower Mainland and Kamloops has not yet impacted Cache Creek but could start to do so, as COVID-19 pushes people out of more urban centres.

The community’s aging population was also noted. Although the population of Cache Creek has remained stable over the past 15 years, household size is declining at the same time that the community is aging. In 2006, 20 per cent of Cache Creek’s population was 65 or older, with a median age of 46.6 years. In 2016 28 per cent of the population was 65 or older, and the median age was 54. By 2026 it is anticipated that 40 per cent of the population will be over the age of 65, and the median age will be 60.3.

Mackay said that with an aging population, household sizes tend to decline as children move out, but more homes are needed as those smaller households look to move to more suitable accommodation. “You need many, many more homes to meet the demands of the same number of people… You need to adapt and change your housing to suit that population.”

The report said that while many older residents worry about their ability to maintain larger properties, they are unable to downsize because of cost or the unavailability of suitable smaller properties. This highlights a need for land-use decisions that prioritize multi-unit housing, smaller units, housing that is closer to amenities and services, and more active/public transportation. Home care and semi-supported or supported housing options were also listed as desirable.