So far, property owners living in rural areas of the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) cannot access the provincial government secondary suite incentive program (SSIP).
A three-year pilot project, the program will provide up to $40,000 in forgivable loans to create a new secondary suite or an accessory dwelling unit, and to qualify, the units must be rented below market rates for at least five years.
In February 2024, the province announced the program was being expanded to include 15 regional districts, but the CRD was not included.
Electoral Area D director Steve Forseth is hoping the CRD could be included.
During the regular board meeting on Friday March 1, he put forth a motion asking a letter be forwarded to the minister of housing Hon. Ravi Kahlon to discuss the program’s possible expansion into areas in the CRD building inspection service.
“This is fully to get the conversation started,” Forseth said. “I have constituents on Fox Mountain who would like to do a secondary suite and this would put them on the track to do that.”
Forseth said electoral areas that border Williams Lake, Quesnel and 100 Mile could be part of the solution for providing more housing.
Earlier in the meeting, the board also received a letter from the North Coast Regional District asking the CRD to consider signing a joint letter from the regional districts requesting that all regional districts be included in the secondary suite incentive program.
