Discontent City sprawled across 1 Port Dr. for months, bringing to light serious issues and divides in Nanaimo. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Spencer Sterritt

ONE YEAR LATER

Nanaimo’s housing crisis, one year after Discontent City closed

Dec 9, 2019 | 8:37 AM

NANAIMO — One year later, the land at 1 Port Dr. is clear of tents but the issues at the heart of Nanaimo’s sprawling tent city remain.

Discontent City closed on Dec. 10, 2018, nearly eight months after it opened to protest the lack of affordable housing in Nanaimo.

At the time, mayor Leonard Krog admitted closing the tent city didn’t mean closing the book on housing issues.

“There are people sleeping in parks around our community, sleeping in wood areas, literally camping through the winter,” he said.

Since the rainy closure of the tent city, Nanaimo’s homelessness crisis has worsened.

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A 2018 point-in-time count showed up to 400 people were experiencing absolute homelessness.

City councillors, staff and RCMP now estimate up to 600 people live on the streets and rely on shelters for sleep.

This is after roughly 160 units of temporary housing were hastily built to handle the mass evacuation of Discontent City.

A recent report from the Nanaimo Foundation showed 17.3 per cent of Nanaimo residents were considered low-income. It’s a slight decrease from 2012 but still significantly higher than other areas such as Kamloops, Victoria and Prince George.

A Dec. 2 City report about the Affordable Housing Strategy showed the average rent for one-bedroom apartment in central Nanaimo is $837, while new one-bedroom apartments could rent for up to $1,600.

In 2019, five building permits were issued which included housing agreements for affordable housing. The housing agreements detail a specific number of units in each development which cost up to 80 per cent of the average Nanaimo rent.

From the five building permits, 341 units will be considered affordable.

In an effort to ease the burden on those looking for a home, nearly 550 rental units were built in Nanaimo in 2018. This exceeded the goal set in the strategy.

“Purpose-built rental compromised about 56 per cent of the total units completed in 2018,” the report showed. “This trend is likely to continue into 2019.”

The report showed while a higher-than-anticipated number of units are being built, it takes roughly 30 years for high-end apartments and houses to filter down to those living on the median income.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit