Victoria councillors directed staff Thursday to look at ways to create affordable housing specifically for artists 鈥� a step that one councillor says will give preferential treatment to one group of citizens over another.
Coun. Jeremy Loveday, who recommended the move, said it was largely a 鈥渉ousekeeping鈥� matter, since it merely aligns the city鈥檚 Create Victoria Masterplan with the Victoria Housing Strategy.
Loveday said the masterplan was approved in 2017 after extensive consultation with the public, but its goal of encouraging affordable housing for artists was never included in the housing strategy as intended.
鈥淚 think we have a duty to implement the plans that we approve,鈥� he told a committee of the whole meeting. 鈥淚 think if we don鈥檛, especially after such broad participation, we will erode the trust of the public and why would they then want to participate in future processes?鈥�
Loveday argued that artists deserve special treatment because they help create a vibrant, interesting city, one where people want to live and work. 鈥淎nd if that doesn鈥檛 do it for you, then it鈥檚 because they鈥檙e a major economic driver with over $104 million [going] into the city鈥檚 [gross domestic product],鈥� he said.
In terms of what the policy would look like in action, Loveday cited the example of a building with an art school on the first floor and rental-housing units above.
鈥淚f the artists below desire, they would have first right of refusal on those units,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o this could give our staff a policy rationale for accepting and recommending a project like that to us in the future.鈥�
He said qualifying artists would still have to meet income thresholds. 鈥淭his won鈥檛 be putting artists to the front of the line,鈥� he said.
But Coun. Geoff Young argued that鈥檚 exactly what the policy will do.
鈥淚f the motion means anything, it means that if you are a server or a plumber鈥檚 apprentice and you have such and such an income, you get put lower on the list than someone who qualifies in some way as an artist,鈥� he said.
Young, who was alone in opposition, also questioned the practicality of the plan and how the artists will be selected.
鈥淎re we going to have our staff do it? Are we going to have contests with juries? What are we going to do when people have qualified once, but maybe the quality of their work has gone down or they have left the occupation?鈥�
Coun. Ben Isitt acknowledged Young鈥檚 concerns, but said the city鈥檚 arts team is capable of navigating those issues, while drawing on the experience of similar programs in cities around the world.
鈥淚 think we don鈥檛 want to create unfairness, but presumably there are other communities that have grappled with 鈥� how to implement this is a way that鈥檚 fair to both artists and others in need of housing,鈥� he said.
鈥淭he ultimate unfairness right now is that housing is abundantly available to those who have means and it鈥檚 unavailable to those who don鈥檛. So that鈥檚, I think, the glaring unfairness, not the policies that might be aimed to house an underpaid worker in the tourism sector or an underpaid artist.鈥�
Coun. Sarah Potts added that Victoria is far from alone in lending a hand to struggling artists. 鈥淎cross North America, there are many communities doing this or moving toward this already,鈥� she said.
鈥淚n Vancouver, they鈥檝e committed to 400聽units of affordable artists鈥� housing and no net loss of cultural spaces.
鈥淢any of these projects have been framed as revitalization projects and certainly they have been proven to bring new life and revenue and vibrancy to communities. For those reasons, I鈥檓 happy to support this.鈥�
