3Ravens Housing Cooperative By Keith Porteous (Op-Ed)
Anyone paying attention knows that there is a housing crisis of accessibility and affordability, but the word “crisis” is now so commonly used it’s lost much of its impact and the sense of urgency in its true meaning. A crisis is defined as an unstable or highly difficult situation that requires immediate decisive action to resolve. It can also be a critical turning point where the outcome will make a positive and decisive difference.
Such is the current situation on Denman Island where we need urgent and decisive action by Local Island Trustees, proponents of innovative housing projects, and the broader community at large. Non-market based housing solutions need to be supported by the Local Trust Committee, and the 3Ravens Affordable Housing Cooperative is currently the best example deserving of our collective support.
One of the ways that the LTC has helped clear the bureaucratic hurdles for 3Ravens is by letting the Province of B.C.’s regulatory agencies deal with the issues of water, where the LTC is without direct legal jurisdiction in regulating the health and safety of potable water. The 3Ravens Housing Coop cannot proceed without Provincial approval of their plans for water. The LTC should finish their work on housing policy reform prior to the end of their elected term.
Critics of 3Ravens who have written to the Local Trust Committee have made wrong assumptions about the affordability aspect of the proposal. 3Ravens is not a project that addresses every kind of housing need, nor does it address the need for non-market rental housing. Instead, 3Ravens Housing Cooperative creates an opportunity for people and families who have some independent means, but are priced out of the inflated housing market.
This type of non-market housing is crucial in retaining a healthy demographic mix of people who have likely been renters, but are interested in a community project that is reliant on the mutual efforts and benefits of a dozen neighbours who wish to work collectively for a secure home to live and thrive as friends and family. This is a legacy project already contemplated in the current Denman Island Official Community Plan.
While a worthy non-market rental housing project like Denman Green is best located near the amenities of Downtown Denman, 3Ravens will provide secure homes for people less dependent on their proximity to these services, in a similar way that the CoHo Landing project does not require their residents to live walking distance from services, because its residents have independent means of transportation.
The additional 7 proposed 3Ravens residences will be no more than 1200 sq. ft., with a small common house, built on a 15 acre parcel. A few neighbours have expressed a fear of loss of privacy, but this seems more like the concern of entitlement carried by people living in extremely expensive and privileged circumstances. The closest neighbour building will be 250 ft from 3Ravens with plenty of trees buffering in between. We’re living in a housing crisis, and our neighbours need our support.
The Denman residents who are currently renters, and successfully aspire to be a part of the 3Ravens Coop, will also open up needed affordable rental vacancies for others. Let’s wish the very best of luck to Sara and Paul, in their generous efforts to bring forward such a worthy gift to Denman Islanders.
