CitySpaces Consulting was engaged by the Village of Pemberton in April 2019 to complete an Age-Friendly Affordable Housing Action Plan. This project provided an opportunity for the Village to finalize their Affordable Housing Plan Background Report, which had been initiated in-house. Building off this work, CitySpaces prepared an Age-Friendly (Seniors) Affordable Housing Needs Assessment, which provided important context for the final deliverable, the Age-Friendly Affordable Housing Action Plan.
The approach to this assessment was framed by legislation and associated regulations: the Local Government Act (mainly Part 14) and Housing Needs Report Regulations. These Regulations focus on obtaining both quantitative and qualitative sources of information to offer comprehensive insight into local housing needs. Quantitative information came from available statistics, and the qualitative information was obtained through stakeholder consultation.
Given the Village’s aging demographics, both the Needs Assessment and the Housing Action Plan were completed with an age-friendly lens, as seniors form an important priority group. Through the course of stakeholder consultation, six priority groups were identified, which are outlined below:
These priority groups form the focus of the Housing Action Plan, as policy objectives and directions have been tailored to address their unique housing challenges. Pemberton’s Age-Friendly Affordable Housing Action Plan provides a framework for the Village to work with other levels of government, the private sector, and non-profit organizations to facilitate the development of affordable housing. The Action Plan also assists the Village to establish policies and regulations that allow them to effectively respond to development applications.
