After an influx of new applicants, the waitlist for interim housing has grown to 58 people.
During their regular council meeting yesterday (Tuesday, Jan 20), Jasper Municipal Council received an update from the Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre (JRCC).
Jasper’s Director of Recovery Michael Fark told council that the interim housing program currently houses 353 households—or 674 individuals. The JRCC has processed over 950 applications and recently saw an influx of new applications.
“Once again, the demand for interim housing is exceeding the amount of supply that we will have available,” Fark said.
He attributed this increase to seasonal staff and businesses coming to Jasper to assist with the rebuild.
The program began with four in-town sites, plus dorm-style units located at Marmot Meadows, adjacent to Whistlers Campground south of the townsite. The interim site next to the Jasper Museum, which came online in late December, is now fully occupied, with occupancy expected at the Patricia Circle site by the end of January, and at the United Church site by the end of February.
There is a total of 446 units with 398 allocated and 78 available, but the available ones are mainly excess dormitory stock.
“There has been some less than total demand for the dormitory units for the winter time, although we except to see some of that fill up over the next couple of months,” Fark said.
Debris removal is complete for Jasper, with the exception of one property in S-Block.
A dozen properties still need to submit soil sample reports, and Parks Canada is reviewing four reports. The remaining 358 sites have received certificates of completion, Fark said.
On January 8, Parks Canada’s Jasper Field Unit superintendent approved changes to the town’s land-use policy to enable more housing options, increase the number of homes that can be built and simplify policies. The changes come into effect February 6.
Construction is underway at 68 properties, and 11 have finished buildings. In addition, 194 are in the prepare and design phase, 70 are in the application process and 32 have building permits approved and are ready for construction.
So far, the properties issued a permit will be replacing 183 dwelling units and adding 61 net new units.
Utility rate bylaw
Council gave third and final reading to the utility fees bylaw that will hike rates for multiple services.
The bylaw increases water levies by 7.8 per cent, sewer levies by 4.4 per cent, solid waste fees by 4.1 per cent and recycling rates by 5.5 per cent.
Under the CCC rate model, how much a user is charged depends not just on consumption but also their connection size.
The Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce previously criticized the “inequitable billing tiers” of the model, saying it prioritizes single-family homes over tenants and tourists in larger properties.
Supplementary taxes
Council also gave third and final reading to supplementary assessment and tax bylaws, which will ensure property owners have improvements assessed and taxed even if they are completed mid-year.
Last year, supplementary property taxes generated $5,660 in revenue.
The Municipality is anticipating additional revenue in 2026, since increased construction activity is expected amid the wildfire recovery with many projects being completed part-way through the tax year.
Peter Shokeir // info@thejasperlocal.com
