Grand Forks looks at ways to support residents whose flood-ravaged homes will be bought out

Grand Forks homeowners whose properties will be bought by the government for less than they had hoped might receive other forms of relief from the city.

The southern Interior city's council voted Monday to have staff meet with residents whose homes are being bought out at post-flood values, to try to find ways to help them in-kind. 

After the city of 4,000 people was ravaged by record floods in May of 2018, forcing many from their homes and closing businesses in the downtown area for a few weeks, the city applied to higher levels of government to help them purchase properties along the Kettle and Granby rivers so they can level them and return the land to a natural flood plain. 

Last month, the federal, provincial and local governments announced a $50-million package to help fund initiatives to protect the southern Interior city from future flooding. 

Included in the package was funding to help buy out some of the hardest hit homes in the flood plain area. 

However, many residents were devastated to learn that their homes will be assessed at current market values for the buy-outs, opposed to what they were worth before the floods hit.

In a document to council, city staff estimate that people being bought out at post-flood values are losing an average of $79,000 for their homes, adding up to an estimated $6.6 million loss for everyone altogether. For some, that means the value of their homes dropped by $11,000, and for others, by as much as $358,000. 

"We're not going to give a financial advantage at this point to any single homeowner, but we're going to find ways that we can do other things within the city," said Mayor Brian Taylor.

"The outcome we're looking for, is that we keep as many people as possible in our community and find viable attainable housing options for them within our community."

Support options

The document presented at Monday's meeting states that 24 houses will be bought out for less than $60,000 if they are assessed at post-flood values, which is not enough for property owners to replace their home with something similar in the area, and in many cases, pay what they owe on their mortgage. 

The city is now trying to find ways to give in-kind support, which means finding opportunities to help residents being bought out with things such as priority for social housing, looking at creating co-ops, and the possibility of providing local financing, among other things, Taylor told Daybreak South guest host Brady Strachan. 

"We're looking at the hardest hit as a group that we're going to concentrate on in terms of finding other ways. This decision by the government is tough for people to take," said Taylor.

The city's next step will be to meet with small groups in the community to get an idea of where flood victims see themselves going next and what is needed on a case-by-case basis, he said.

"Equity and fairness is an important part of it. But, we're also looking at sound investments for the city," Taylor said. 

This includes what the mayor describes as lifecycle costing. The city hopes that by using its resources to help flood victims now, in the long run, they will make that money back through either local financing, or through their contributions to the economy through taxes, said Taylor.