Vancouver issues affordable housing report

A municipal task force aiming to make housing more affordable in Vancouver released its first set of recommendations on Monday.

The Mayor's Task Force on Housing Affordability is focusing on low to middle income households, ranging from an individual income of $21,500 to a combined household income of $86,500.

Its first report recommends speeding up housing applications for affordable rentals and streamlining approvals for lower-cost developments.

Task Force Chair Olga Ilich says recommendations also include prioritising affordable housing in the Cambie corridor, and using city-owned land to create co-ops and rental housing.

"Is there some way that we can leverage some of the city-owned land and make that available? We are going to do a pilot project and try and see what comes in the door. We will make it available to people and say 'Give us your best ideas,' and we will see what comes of that," she said.

A public engagement process for citizens to provide ideas and feedback on housing affordability in Vancouver will begin in the next few weeks.

The task force will submit a final report in June.