BIRCH is hiring a part time administrative manager – please check out the posting. If you are passionate about creating housing options for Bowen Island, love being organized and thrive on the details, we’d love to hear from you!
Come meet us!
We’d love to chat with you:
Saturday, August 16th 10am-12pm – Farmer’s Market @ BICS
Saturday, August 23rd at Bowfest!
Your local housing advocates are still hard at work and have plenty of news to share.
Miller Road building: the Lookout Society and BIRCH are still aiming to have shovels in the ground by the end of 2025.
Miller Road building: we are working to update the building plans to accommodate new building code and accessibility requirements.
Miller Road building: we are also working on the first of two internal approval milestones for our grant funding, which should happen in April/May.
Miller Road building: we have hired a general contractor to work alongside the design team as we ramp up for construction.
Miller Road building: there is a full team site meeting happening in March so that all the consultants, agencies, and societies can meet in person, go over the site together and “break bread.”
BIRCH: BIM council has instructed staff to draft a partnering agreement with BIRCH to form a Community Owned Housing Organization, and we are getting close to finishing the agreement and getting on with the exciting work.
Lot 1: our report on the development of this lot to BIM’s Mayor and Council is nearly wrapped up.
It’s time! We would love it if you would help the Lookout Society and BIRCH to choose a name for our building on Miller Road. In our meetings and when engaging with the community, the need for an official name has become apparent so we’re asking for your input.
This is still a concept illustration, but gives you an idea of the latest design that the team has produced as we get closer to putting shovels in the dirt.
Thanks to all who came to chat with us at Bowfest this past weekend!
See below link to the FAQ page for the Miller Road Community Housing Project.
See you Aug 31, 2024 at the BICS Farmer’s Market!
It’s been too long, so here’s what’s new:
Hello Bowen Island!
With summer coming to an end, we thought a good time to provide an update on what BIRCH has been working on over the last few months and are looking forward to seeing everyone at Bowfest this weekend and at the Farmers’ Market at BICS on August 31st.
The Community Housing Project at 1033 Miller Road (just behind the new health centre) is moving along well.
BIRCH has partnered with Lookout Housing and Health Society to build 24 units of community rental housing located close to Snug Cove. The project has received approval from the BC Housing Community Fund and our architects and engineers are working hard and our plan is to start construction in 2025.
Separately, BIRCH has been working with Tomo Spaces to develop a vision for the future of Lot 1, the undeveloped Bowen Island Municipality-owned property located between Mt. Gardner Road and Grafton Road.
BIM bought this land from Metro Vancouver Parks in 2005 and since then there have been a number of different planning processes that have helped to move the process along. This included the 2018 community workshop that identified housing as a top priority, alongside making room for live/work and light industrial uses. BIRCH and Tomo are now working towards confirming that vision and defining the next steps required to make it happen.
Want to know more? Please feel free to send us an email at info@birchousing.org or come visit us at Bowfest this weekend or the Farmer’s Market the following weekend!
As always, we thank you for your time and support.
We have the BEST NEWS to share!!!
Hi there Bowen Island,
BIRCH continues to work hard towards our Vision in which “Every Bowen Island Community Member has access to a safe and healthy home” and today have an exciting update to share.
With the support of the Bowen Island Municipality, BIRCH has partnered with Tomo Spaces to develop a phased development plan for Lot 1 of the Community Lands, undeveloped parcels owned by the Municipality.
The last public engagement on these lands was conducted in 2018 so it’s time to check in again and learn more about the Community’s vision for Lot 1. To do this we will running an online survey from April 26 until May 13. This short survey will help us develop a better understanding of current community priorities and what may have changed since we last asked about Lot 1 in 2018.
Please do complete the survey and help us to create a plan that reflects the current needs and priorities of Bowen Island: https://bit.ly/bowenlot1
And in case you missed it, we were thrilled to announce last month that BC Housing has confirmed their intention to proceed with funding the BIRCH rental housing project in Snug Cove! The Miller Road project (located beside the new health centre) will create 24 rental homes and is in partnership with the Lookout Housing & Health Society and Bowen Island Municipality. The link to the full announcement can be found on our website: www.birchousing.org
As always, thank you for your time and support.
We have the BEST NEWS to share!!!
The rental housing project that BIRCH has been working towards for many years is suddenly on! Thanks in no small part to our partnership with the Lookout Housing & Health Society and of course Bowen Island Municipality, BC Housing has confirmed their intention to proceed with funding the BIRCH rental housing project in Snug Cove!
Now the real work begins, and we are so very excited to be able to proceed with a project that will create 24 rental homes in the Cove.
The full announcement is found here.
Thank you to everyone for their years of support!
The BIRCH Board is pleased to share with the community that we and our partners at Lookout Housing + Health Society have today submitted our application for funding of the Bowen Island Community Lands project to the Building BC: Community Housing Fund.
After feedback following the declining of our previous application, BIRCH decided that the best route to success this time would be to to partner with the Lookout Society, whose experience and track record addresses our application’s primary weaknesses. Their strengths made it clear to us that they should take the lead on the application and on the resulting building, and we could not be happier with the relationship.
Lookout has been offering a range of programs and housing and health solutions since 1971 and their projects house more than 1,800 people every night and our community is incredibly fortunate to have them leading our application. At every turn, the BIRCH ED and Board members were clear that the goal is building housing, and that the involvement of our friends at the Lookout Society gives us the best chance for success.
BIRCH will of course continue to be involved wherever it furthers the project. We have the relationships with Bowen Island Municipality, the architects and engineers, and everyone else involved in this project. We simply want to get this building built!
Of course key support for this project comes from the Bowen Island community. Thank you to everyone who wrote letters of support, offered help, and urged this project forward. We could not have gotten to this point without you.
We don’t yet know when we hear back from BC Housing, but we will of course keep you in the loop, and look forward to sharing exciting news.
Thank you!
David McCullum
Board Chair
Bowen Island Resilient Community Housing
BIRCH is applying to BC Housing to the BC Housing Community Housing Fund this fall. Support from the Bowen community has been critical to our progress so far and we’re hoping that you will make the time to help us again and send a letter of support by Oct 15th. 
Click here to open our full backgrounder on the project and the ask.
Background
Bowen Island Resilient Community Housing (BIRCH) is the only non-profit housing society based on Bowen Island and is working to develop a more diverse range of housing options for our community.
We have land! Bowen Island Municipality has committed a 0.15 HA vacant parcel at 1033 Miller Road to build a community housing project with approximately 24 units of secure rental housing. With this land BIRCH will help build a more connected, resilient community by providing secure rental housing that will suit a variety of needs for Bowen Island community members, with a special focus on the Island’s most vulnerable: those with mobility challenges, low-income families, individuals, and seniors, and moderate-income families.
The need for affordable and non-market housing in our community is well-known, confirmed by a Housing Needs Assessment completed in 2020 and BIRCH’s own community housing surveys (2019, 2022). Additionally, the Bowen Island Community Foundation’s Vital Conversations most recent gathering identified affordable housing as a priority.
This project will provide urgently needed rental housing stock that is has a variety of size and rent levels. Providing secure tenure in rental housing is critical to maintaining a diverse community.
The current housing situation on Bowen Island (updated with 2021 Census data)
Funding
We are currently preparing to apply to the next round of BC Housing’s Community Housing Fund. If we are successful in our application, we anticipate approximately $3.8m capital contribution that will be used to fund the construction of the project. In addition, we will be seeking funding from CMHC’s National Co-Investment Fund as well as contributions from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund to increase the energy efficiency and sustainability of the building.
Please send your letters of support to robyn@birchousing.org. We will collate them and submit them with the housing application. Your response by October 15th would be appreciated.
If you’d like a template for your letter, please click here.
Thank you so very much for your support. We cannot do this without you.
David McCullum
Board Chair
Bowen Island Resilient Community Housing
We are grateful that Bowen Council was unanimous in its support of the BIRCH variance request and has referred it to its committees for comment. They also would like the public’s comments and are asking for your input before July 24th at 4pm.
Comments may be sent:
• by E-mail to mayorandcouncil@bimbc.ca;
• by dropping off in person;
• by mail to 981 Artisan Lane, Bowen Island, BC, V0N1G2; or
• by fax to 604-947-0193
We are asking the community to send letters of support. These variances are critical to the viability of our project and so we hope you’re able to make the time to show your support.
Thank you so very much for your support. We cannot do this without you.
David McCullum
Board Chair
Bowen Island Resilient Community Housing
Hello Bowen Island, we need your help in the form of a letter or email to Bowen Island Municipal Council by June 22nd!
Bowen Island Resilient Community Housing (BIRCH) is applying for a Development Variance Permit for our community rental housing project located on Miller Road (next to the new Health Centre). We are seeking two variances: the first is a reduction of parking spaces from the required 24 to 10.
The second variance is an increase to building height from the zoned maximum of 9.0m to 13.29m.
Only with both of these variances will we be able to maximize our use of the property and provide the ~25 units of secure rental housing that we have been working towards these last few years.
We are asking the community to send letters of support. These variances are critical to the viability of our project and so we hope you’re able to make the time to show your support.
Our application will be introduced at the June 26th Council meeting, with a vote coming later in the summer at the July 24th meeting.
Please send your letters:
• by E-mail to mayorandcouncil@bimbc.ca;
• by dropping off in person;
• by mail to 981 Artisan Lane, Bowen Island, BC, V0N1G2; or
• by fax to 604-947-0193
Thank you so very much for your support. We cannot do this without you.
David McCullum
Board Chair
Bowen Island Resilient Community Housing
Director Adam Lougheed and the brains of the sign erection project Ralph proudly show off BIRCH’s Development Variance Permit Application notice.
BIRCH is proud to have reached the next step in the project: asking the Municipal Council to approve our application to both increase the permitted height of our building and decrease the required number of parking spaces.
The height will allow us to maximize our use of the land and offer the most rental spaces possible, and the parking reduction does the same, while also recognizing that this will be a project that results in housing that is walkable to the school, shops, the ferry, and the core facilities of our community.
Please watch this space for our call for support as this decision comes before Council.
Summary
On October 15th our community goes to the polls to select its local government. BIRCH has questions for each candidate:
Background
Several years ago, we saw a gap in the kind of housing being developed on Bowen. With no non-profit organisation in a position to go after the newly available provincial and federal funding opportunities, Bowen Island Resilient Community Housing (BIRCH) Society was formed. We reached out to the municipality, and they agreed to partner with us in the development of new affordable housing in the community and provide land for the project.
BIRCH is primarily volunteer run, with our executive director working at below market compensation. With the approximate $30,000 of operational funds BIM has provided in the past 4 years, BIRCH has been able to secure almost $200,000 in project funding for the Miller Road affordable housing project (note –this funding cannot be used for BIRCH operations). We have secured our consultant team and completed schematic design of the building. We have also recently formed a partnership with a well-established Vancouver-based housing organisation that greatly improves our chances of securing government funding.
During the campaign for the 2018 Bowen Island municipal election, 100% of the candidates for Council and the Mayoralty publicly pledged their support to working to solve the housing crisis that the Island was facing. Each candidate endorsed the project that BIRCH had been pursuing in support of solving this problem. However, after the election, Council drastically reduced the land that they would make available to the BIRCH project. The resulting renegotiation resulted in a significant reduction in the land available to the project, drastically reducing the scope of BIRCH’s ability to build, and sending mixed messages to potential funding partners regarding the municipality’s support for the project.
In the 4 years since then, our relationship with BIM has felt less and less like a partnership. In 2019 we were granted a 3-year agreement to lease on a lot on Miller Road. Recently, a renewal of that agreement was reduced to 1 year – according to the CAO this reduction was in order to “hold (BIRCH’s) feet to the fire” and ensure that the land remain available for “any higher purpose.” These types of statements have made us at BIRCH feel that we are not seen as valuable partners, working together with the municipality to build housing for the community – but rather as an outside organisation that needs to continually prove its value.
Additionally, operational funding has been very difficult to secure. Applications to BIM for multi-year funding were turned down, and it was only after 3 unsuccessful grant applications that council made a special resolution to provide operational funds. We repeatedly had to make our case for the need for operational funds to support our organisation – once again feeling we need to prove our worthiness as a partner. Continually having to justify our organisation and its role in developing housing on Bowen has taken its toll on our board and staff and our motivation.
Lastly, our advocacy for implementation of the MRDT has not been made a priority by the current council. This tax would provide revenue to the municipality that could be used towards affordable housing – such as operational funds for BIRCH or other housing organisations.
BIRCH does not purport to have the only answer to the housing crisis, nor is it the only organisation working towards housing solutions on Bowen Island. We are however, in a unique position to apply for upcoming government funding opportunities – with our years of professional experience, work completed to date towards the Miller Road project and our ongoing efforts at building relationships with funding partners.
With this upcoming election and a new mayor and many new councillors, we are hoping for a stronger relationship and true partnership with the municipality moving forward.
Summary
This past summer Bowen Island Resilient Community Housing (BIRCH) conducted our second community housing survey. Like our last survey in 2019, we asked the Bowen community about the current housing situation and for feedback on our proposed housing project. In this most recent survey we have also asked how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the housing situation on Bowen Island.
The survey results summarized in this post will help guide BIRCH as we progress towards the development of non-market affordable rental housing here on Bowen Island. We would like to thank everyone who completed the survey.
Key Takeaways
Similar to the survey we conducted in May 2019, the majority of respondents were middle age, with two-thirds of all responses coming from those between the ages of 50 and 79. We received no survey responses from those under 20, six responses from those between 20-34 and only 3 responses from those 80 years old and above. It is important to note that while these groups may be under represented in the findings summarized below they remain important members of the Bowen community, with unique housing concerns that must be considered.
BIRCH is very excited to be moving forward with the next step in the feasibility stage of our project – an updated housing survey!
Take the survey now! www.birchousing.org/survey
BIRCH welcomes all Bowen Island community members to complete this survey to identify housing issues and priorities on Bowen Island. The results of the survey will help to inform BIRCH’s proposed non-profit rental project on Lot 3 of the Community Lands, as well as general needs for future housing projects on Bowen Island. We thank you in advance for your time and effort to complete this survey – it should take less than 10 minutes.
All survey responses are confidential.
All survey responses are confidential.
The survey is open until Thursday, June 30th.
For more info please visit BIRCH’s website at: https://birchousing.org/