Langford may have a young demographic, but the welcome mat is out for seniors who choose to retire there, said Mayor Stew Young.
Diversity is key, he said.
The municipality 鈥� with 32聽per cent of its population between the ages of 25 and 44 years compared to the 乌鸦传媒 average of 26.3 per cent 鈥� entices new seniors鈥� housing developments with a 10-year tax holiday. But there鈥檚 also room 鈥� a lot of room 鈥� for the massive Westhills development, a planned community that aims to attract grandparents, parents and children.
鈥淚鈥檝e always supported having seniors living in the community [because] it makes it a healthier community,鈥� Mayor Young said. 鈥淚聽like to have interaction with grandparents and the kids.
鈥淥ur model is basically for the youngest of the young and oldest of the old to interact in the community 鈥� I鈥檝e been pushing that for the 20 years that I鈥檝e been mayor,鈥� Young said.
Seniors housing 鈥渋s market-driven but supported by the community and the politicians,鈥� Young said.
鈥淵ou want to have a diverse type of housing, diverse types of people living there and just be welcoming to everybody.鈥�
The municipality offers free trolley service to help those without cars or on limited incomes聽to get around.
鈥淪eniors need pharmacies, restaurants, places for people to go and hang out and feel part of the community,鈥� Young said.
The municipality accommodates the changing demographics by widening sidewalks so they can accommodate both scooters and pedestrians, Young said.
鈥淟angford hasn鈥檛 had any of that stuff [like wider sidewalks] before,鈥� Young said.
鈥淲e try to work with the development community so they help us pay for all this stuff.鈥�
Seniors-only stratas are less common than they used to be, said Sandy Wagner, president of Vancouver Island Strata Owners Association, which has 9,000 members.
鈥淧eople find that with having only seniors in the building, they don鈥檛 have a lot of active people who want to be on strata councils 鈥� that鈥檚 a good reason to lower the age limit,鈥� Wagner said.
Another is the difficulty living around the strata鈥檚 rules, especially for seniors who want their grandchildren to visit.
鈥淢any people aren鈥檛 aware of [the rules] when they move in,鈥� Wagner said. 鈥淭hey say they only want their grandchildren to visit for a couple of weeks, and it may or may not be allowed under the bylaws.鈥�
Strata rules can only restrict the age of residents, not the age of unit owners. That became a problem for another woman Wagner knows, who while in her 40s inherited a unit in a 55-and-up complex. She couldn鈥檛 live there and couldn鈥檛 rent it out because the strata banned rentals.
鈥淪he tried unsuccessfully to get around the no-rental restrictions and it cost more in fines over the long term than it would have to just leave it empty and pay the monthly strata fees 鈥� she eventually sold the unit before she turned 55,鈥� said Wagner.
With the increasing number of seniors moving to Greater Victoria for the climate, the demand for age-restricted condominiums is likely to go up, said Andrew Ramlo, an urban planner with Urban Futures Consulting.
鈥淭he CRD certainly has an older population 鈥� and I would probably say that you鈥檙e probably going see an increase in the numbers of condos that will be age-restricted,鈥� said Ramlo.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a reason why those those restrictions are there and that鈥檚 generally because there鈥檚 a certain segment of the population that鈥檚 going to want to enjoy or require to be in that type of situation.
鈥淢ight be a bunch of young folks with no kids or a bunch of older folks who don鈥檛 have any kids either and they just want that type of lifestyle.鈥�
Communities thrive with diversity, so seniors housing can work well when it鈥檚 in proportion to a larger community, Ramlo said.
鈥淭he communities that work well have a good mix of things, whether that be people and ages or uses with respect to the corner store, a seniors鈥� centre and a daycare. Diversity is a good thing.鈥�
Diversity can create and promote livability in general in a community, Ramlo said.
鈥淏ut that said, there鈥檚 always going to be a certain segment of the population who say, 鈥業 just want to be with people who are like me,鈥� whether that be a seniors鈥� community 鈥� or a younger community that has a restriction on things like kids.鈥�
