The City of Kamloops is fine-tuning its application for a $15.6 million grant to help increase the affordable housing supply over the next three years.

It comes as Kamloops Council gave the green light to apply for the grant from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Housing Accelerator Fund.

Community Planning Manager Julie McGuire says the move comes due to continued population growth on top of a shortage of affordable housing.

“This is particularly true for what we refer to as the “missing middle” housing, which is generally higher-density housing in the middle of the housing spectrum. Examples include townhouses, duplexes, or other multiplexes.”

If the grant application is successful, McGuire says the money would be used to streamline development approvals as well as amend the zoning bylaw to allow for more residential density.

“A lot of the low-density zones could use an update to allow more of this ‘missing middle’ product; it would also upgrade our infrastructure to allow that higher density in our core areas.”

For the grant, McGuire says the city has to commit to seven actions that will accelerate housing supply growth over the next three years.

“A lot of those actions revolve around our processes and updating bylaws to incentivize more housing in Kamloops and what that money would be used for is completing those actions that we are putting in the action plan.”

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation will announce the successful grant applicants this fall.

“If we are successful in getting the grant, we get 25 per cent right away – so this fall – we then report on our progress with achieving our housing units, and then each year after that, we get an extra 25 per cent of the funding.”

The report says 390 units would be created in Kamloops over the three years if the city can secure the $15.6 Million.