Parks Canada wants to know where Jasper municipal council stands on Private Home Accommodations (PHAs) in the community.

A letter from Jasper National Park’s Realty and Municipal Services Manager, Moira McKinnon, dated September 30, appeared on the latest Committee of the Whole meeting agenda, alongside a request from MOJ staff on how to respond.

But council had more questions than answers.

“Has there been any research into how changes in PHA requirements will change housing values?” asked councillor Scott Wilson, starting off the discussion.

While perhaps not research on that particular query, Parks Canada has gone to the community to consult on how the agency should address affordable housing. Through public consultations in February and March of 2019, JNP officials sought input on updating Jasper’s zoning regulations; considerations for accessory dwelling units (ADUs); and how to mitigate the impact of PHAs on the supply of ADUs.

Armed with plenty of feedback but apparently still not prepared to make decisions that would ultimately affect the livelihood of residents and the makeup of the community, Parks Canada has come to Jasper municipal council to help guide the drafting of new planning regulations.

“Does council support making changes to PHAs in order to increase the town’s housing supply?” McKinnon wrote.

While councillors Wilson and Jenna McGrath wasted no time unmuting their Zoom microphones to weigh in (Wilson: no he doesn’t support undermining the local real estate market; McGrath: yes, reduced housing prices would help young families), the mayor came at the discussion somewhat more strategically. He noted the significance of this item being presented at the council level, and suggested that failing to leverage the agenda item into a broader conversation about the transfer of land use and planning from Ottawa to Jasper would be a “huge step backwards.”

“These are matters of extreme importance to the community,” Richard Ireland said. “I think we should use this to renew really serious discussions of transfer of jurisdiction.”

In March, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, Parks Canada announced reduced service capacity and put a hold on new PHA applications, beginning April 30. Six months later, the service is still in limbo, and so too, argued councillor Wilson, are Jasper homeowners and potential homeowners whose financial security hinges on whether or not they’ll be able to operate a tourist suite to help pay their mortgage. 

“I would suggest Parks Canada operate business as usual,” Wilson said.

While councillor Paul Butler, who chairs the Jasper Community Housing Corporation now that outgoing CAO Mark Fercho has stepped down, agreed the housing supply is affected by the preponderance of PHAs in the community, he said the questions from Parks Canada were too vague for council to be able to deal with them adequately.

“I would suggest Parks Canada provide more context,” Butler said.

Parks Canada has said that Jasperites indicated, through the public consultations, that they were strongly in favour of implementing ADUs and restricting PHAs. But in February, at least one homeowner whose tourism suite suddenly did not comply with Parks Canada’s definition of a PHA was worried that families would be facing severe devaluations of their homes if they couldn’t operate their PHA as they have in the past.

“So many families will be struggling,” said the home owner, whose identity The Jasper Local agreed to protect.

All the unknowns make it ever more prudent to negotiate the authority to deal with such matters and ultimately, get the power into the hands of the people who live here, rather than in Ottawa, the mayor said.

“I don’t see how the way PHAs are configured and dealt with in the community is integral to how a national park works,” Ireland said.

Bob Covey// thejasperlocal@gmail.com