The City of Vernon is abandoning land it previously targeted for attainable housing.
Council has decided to sell 19 acres of the Hesperia lands on Okanagan Avenue.
“I don’t believe in the city hanging on to property for any length of time,” said Coun. Catherine Lord.
In 2013, the politicians of the day dissolved the city-owned Hesperia Land Corporation, which was created in 2007 to prepare 69 acres near Okanagan Avenue for private development.
The corporation was targeting 1,000 units of market and attainable housing when real estate prices prior to the 2008 recession made it difficult for many people, including professionals, to purchase homes.
However, plans were put on hold in 2010 because of a decline in construction and increased housing availability in Vernon.
The land has been sitting untouched since then, and the bottom 19 acres will be sold because they are serviced.
A remaining 50 acres at the top level of the property will remain in city hands at this time because they aren’t easily accessible and unlikely to be developed any time soon.
Coun. Bob Spiers admits the sale of 19 acres could lead to a development that isn’t considered attainable price-wise.
However, Mayor Akbal Mund disagrees and says attainable housing is still the goal even if it doesn’t occur on the Hesperia lands.
“The vision has not changed,” he said, adding that some of the money from selling the land could go towards promoting affordable housing elsewhere in the community.