Calgary still 42,000 housing units short of what's needed: chief housing officer
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'We've laid a foundation of sound planning principles over the last decade-plus that, when coupled with the Home is Here strategy, has resulted in Calgary being Canada's housing engine,' Hendry said.
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One of the most noteworthy achievements, he argued, was the city's approval last year of 893 below-market housing development permit approvals. But while that represents an 850 per cent year-over-year growth from 2023, he noted it still falls well short of the city's 3,000-unit target.
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Another area the strategy has fallen short is closing Calgary's housing supply gap. Hendry showed a graph highlighting that, despite the ongoing housing boom, the city is on track to have a shortage of roughly 42,000 housing units by the end of this year.
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Although the strategy has fallen short of some targets in its first year and a half, the plan is nevertheless working and the city needs to 'stay the course,' according to Hendry. He encouraged committee members to consider the housing gap whenever housing-related initiatives and projects come before council.
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As for the strategy's next steps, Hendry hinted at a 'by Indigenous, for Indigenous' housing program called Maa'too'maa'taapii Aoko'iyii'piaya, which aims to meet the housing needs of Calgary's First Nation communities.
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While the committee accepted Hendry's update for the corporate record, the item still saw dozens of public presenters, mostly representatives from housing and below-market housing organizations, who spoke to the strategy's merits and shortcomings.
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Michelle James, policy director with Vibrant Communities Calgary — the non-profit organization that oversees the city's poverty reduction strategy — told the committee the charity strongly supports Home is Here, but urged council to put more focus on non-market housing.
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Vibrant Communities Calgary estimates there are 40,000 households in Calgary that are exhausting all avenues to retain their housing, such as using resources like food banks or other charities, James said. There are also more than 3,000 unhoused Calgarians and more than 7,000 households on Calgary Housing's affordable housing waitlist.
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