Galiano Green
GALI’s vision is of a “village” community within our greater Galiano Island community, created by providing comfortable, affordable and secure homes for singles, couples, families, and seniors with moderate to low incomes.
Introduction
The goal of the “Galiano Green” project is to construct 20 affordable and secure rental homes in four clustered multi-unit buildings, on a 10-acre lot at 280 Georgeson Bay Road across from the South Fire Hall. The property is within walking distance of many community amenities including grocery stores, the hardware store, community hall, recycling centre, elementary school, and library.
History
After over a decade of considerable effort and expense on the part of the Galiano Community Housing Association (the previous owner of the property) the community decision was made to designate the land as Community Housing and rezone the property to support a density of 20 dwelling units, subject to subdividing and creating a bare-land strata. GCHA worked on a model in which individuals would lease a strata lot and build their own homes. The support of many local donors and volunteers showed that the community was broadly supportive of this long-awaited affordable housing initiative.
In June of 2020, thanks to the generosity of GCHA, GALI acquired the property for a sum of $10 for the purpose of building and managing long-term affordable rental homes in clustered multi-unit buildings, rather than owner-built homes on leased strata lots.
In order to proceed with this proposed plan, GALI has applied to the Galiano Local Trust Committee for rezoning.
Partners
In June of 2020, GALI signed a letter of agreement with New Commons Development’s Small Communities Initiative. New Commons Development, (NCD), is an established non-profit affordable housing developer.
NCD works collaboratively with local organizations to oversee all phases of a project including feasibility, design, planning approvals, development and operating budgets, and construction. Upon successful completion of a project the homes are owned and managed by the local community organization, in this case GALI.
Funding
GALI has received start up grant funding from New Market Funds through the Investment Readiness Program. (You can link to IRP page on NMF website here: https://newmarketfunds.ca/irp/), and has also received a Seed Funding grant from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to assist with the cost of preparing plans and conducting studies for the proposed project.
Applications to other provincial and federal grant funding programs are in process as well.
Finally, GALI welcomes donations from community supporters at all stages of the project.
Rental Costs
Should this project receive funding from BC Housing’s Community Housing Fund, GALI would follow their housing formula of 20% of the units with deep subsidy rents, 50% of the units with rent-geared-to-income, and 30% of the units rented at “affordable market rates”.
Community Engagement
GALI will inform and engage the Galiano community throughout all phases of this project through a variety of avenues including mailouts, the Active Page, social media, and through community information opportunities and site visits. Depending on Covid-19 restrictions, some of these events may be held electronically.
Design
Considering the cost of infrastructure as well as the topography of the Galiano Green property, the design will consist of clustered multi-unit buildings with homes of various sizes for singles, couples, families and seniors, including four units designed to be fully accessible for persons in a wheelchair.
We envision a rural village-like setting with plenty of room for children to play, an amenity area incorporated within the landscape design for residents’ social events, a vegetable garden and a common building with shared laundry and storage, including for garden tools.
Construction
We will strive to build as environmentally sensitively and sustainably as possible respecting and seeking to preserve as much of the existing natural second growth forest on the property as possible. We will consider initial vs. life cycle costs of the following: energy conservation (efficiency of systems) & atmosphere; healthy working environment (occupant comfort and well being); indoor environmental quality (natural day light access and ventilation, low-emission materials); site sustainability; innovation and system integration (architectural, mechanical & electrical); and materials and resources (collection and storage of recyclables, waste management, reused, recycled or certified materials, local or regional materials).
Water
The Galiano Green property has an excellent well. The well’s capacity to supply the planned number of homes, while ensuring minimal effect on nearby wells, has recently been confirmed by extensive well pump testing conducted by a respected water system specialist. An engineered water management plan has also been completed, and GALI has applied to the Province for a water licence for the Galiano Green development.
We will minimize per capita use by adding metering, an efficient tool for managing and maintaining water supply system; and will promote water efficiency by installing water saving devices (low flush toilets, low flow faucets and shower heads). We are also exploring options for rainwater catchment and storage for irrigation purposes and other non-potable outdoor uses. In addition, there will be onsite storage of a significant supply of water for fire protection.
Get In Touch
Galiano Affordable Living Initiative Society -- #6 - 33 Manzanita Rd. - Galiano Island, BC. V0N 1P0 -- galishousing@gmail.com