By Cheryl Lu

P.A. residents get their say on housing

Dec 2, 2016 | 11:00 AM

Prince Albert residents had an opportunity yesterday to voice their concerns about the state of housing in the city.

A consultation was held Dec. 1 at Gateway Mall. Patricia Maloney, a planner with Dillon Consulting, said the event would help the city develop new housing strategies.

“We are hoping that it’s going to improve the future by providing better, more affordable housing for all people who live here,” she said.

Maloney added the main goal was to receive feedback on resident’s thoughts on rental properties.

“Are basement suites appropriate, should we be looking at building more seniors lodges, what kind of housing is really needed and how do we get that built in the city,” she said.

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All information gathered will be tabulated by Dillon Consulting and city staff to eventually create a number of recommendations.

According to Maloney, the most prevalent concerns included the high monthly fees, and “not terrific” quality of rentals. She thought the issues stemmed from simple simply and demand.

“If there was more supply, maybe the rents would come down. Maybe people would have more choice. And that’s what we are hoping to provide,” she said.

Apart from lowering rental fees, Maloney said the consultation could also impact policies such as zoning bylaws, or plans to utilize the city’s vacant lands.

Within the first 30 minutes of the event, roughly 30 residents completed questionnaires. Maloney said she was pleased by the turnout.

The complete tabulated results are hoped to be completed by Christmas.

news@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow