Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) Housing Needs Report
The Fraser Valley Regional District engaged CitySpaces Consulting to undertake a Regional Housing Needs Assessment to understand current and future housing needs throughout its Electoral Areas:
- Electoral Area A - Boston Bar/North Bend/Canyon Alpine
- Electoral Area B - Yale/Choate/Dogwood Valley/Emory Creek/Laidlaw/Othello/Ruby Creek/Spuzzum/Sunshine Valley
- Electoral Area C - Sasquatch Country
- Electoral Area D - Popkum/Bridal Falls
- Electoral Area E - Chilliwack River Valley
- Electoral Area F - McConnell Creek - Hatzic Prairie
- Electoral Area G - Nicomen Island/ Deroche/Dewdney/Hatzic Island
- Electoral Area H - Cultus Lake/Columbia Valley/Lindell Beach
CitySpaces undertook all aspects of the needs assessment process, including data collection and analysis, public and stakeholder engagement, trend assessment, report preparation, presentation to the FVRD board, and the creation of a summary video. The project scope also included staff training and the development of a guide to updating data indicators as new data becomes available in the future. A distinct stand-alone Housing Needs Report was prepared for each Electoral Area to meet the legislative requirements, including required data indicators, statements on local need, and identification of key housing system gaps. Key project challenges included low data availability for rural areas, a rapidly changing real estate context amidst the rapid price escalations experienced in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, determining local housing challenges without strong indicators, conducting public engagement in remote rural areas, and determining trends in electoral areas where redistricting had occurred between census data releases.
CLIENT: Fraser Valley Regional District
