City says building on green space is a solution for Yellowknife's housing shortage

Arunkumar Navaneethakrishnan moved to Yellowknife from Toronto in February, having secured a room to live with some friends when he got to town. His plan was to look for a bigger place to move into by the time his wife would come join him months later.

She arrived in Yellowknife last month. They are still looking.

"We want to have a separate place so that my in-laws can visit often, back from India," he said. "Also, to start a family."

So far, Navaneethakrishnan says finding their own unit has been more difficult than anticipated, citing safety and maintenance issues in some buildings, and high costs in others. 

He says he looks every day at what's available in case there are new postings, and he regularly emails landlords asking about vacancies. 

Navaneethakrishnan says he has submitted applications on 18 to 20 properties, which he says is "mentally draining."

The City of Yellowknife conducted a housing assessment last year that identified one- and two-bedroom apartments as highly needed, as well as three- and four-bedroom housing – exactly the kind of places Navaneethakrishnan and his wife Rajalakshmi Kalaidasan would want to start a family in.

"We have no residential land for sale essentially at this time," Coun. Rob Warburton told CBC News on Wednesday. "Our existing, already built-up land is just not enough to meet our housing demand."

In order to increase supply, the city has been looking into opening up green spaces for development, like parts of Willow Flats and an area north of Frame Lake. However, bringing new land to market can be a long process that is not always entirely in the city's hands. 

One challenge the city faces is acquiring land from the N.W.T. government, which can take years. Warburton said it's taken from less than a year to nine years in the past, and it's a process that "desperately needs to be improved."

City politicians say they've communicated to the territory that fast-tracking this process is what the city needs most.

The uncertainty around if and when the land can be acquired is why there is no telling when development work might begin north of Frame Lake.

Some other potential developments remain in early stages of background work. Lots on Burwash Drive, Niven Drive, Taylor Road and the Niven Phase 8 expansion were first presented to council in 2023. 

The city is still preparing its planning applications for these areas before they can be advanced by city council, Charlsey White, Yellowknife's director of planning and development, told councillors on Monday.

Lots near Willow Flats were also highlighted by a council motion in 2023. They have reached the stage of being actively studied for rezoning. More than 800 people have signed a petition against developing the area because it is a natural area and wetland.

The city has collected public feedback and is compiling it in a report along with other considerations, like environmental and infrastructure impact. The report is expected to be released in early September and will be followed by a public hearing before the city council decides how it wants to proceed.

One of the most advanced projects is a new residential development on Gitzel street.

"We're doing the surveying, but we're registering and then going to appraise it and hopefully have it to market this year," White said. 

She said Gitzel has been an example of how a development can be turned around quickly. "When all the stars align, that's about a seven-month process." 

Coun. Warburton said that while public feedback on potential developments will be taken into consideration, the city can't afford not to develop green spaces.

"We've had firefighters that take jobs and then have to rescind them because they can't find a place to live," he said. "Every employer in this town has the same problem."

Navaneethakrishnan says he understands why people who have been living in Yellowknife for a long time might be against building on green spaces, whether it's to preserve the environment or their property values.

He says it's not his place to say where the city should build because those decisions need thorough study by the right officials to make informed decisions about impact.

"Back in my country I would be totally against it, to be frank, and also back in Toronto I would be totally against it," he said. "But here there is a need."