SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The vice-president of the NWT Construction Association said the territorial government should open up 100 lots of property territory-wide for development during a meeting at the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre on Friday.

City councillor Cory Vanthuyne told a roomful of contractors last week that city staff understand "the urgency of the current situation" in regards to fees and restrictions deterring developers in Phase VII of the Niven Lake subdivision. He was speaking at a public meeting hosted by the NWT Construction Association on Feb. 5 at the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre. - Tim Edwards/NNSL photo

This would help the construction industry, and drive down the cost of housing, according to Niels Konge.

More than 40 members of the construction and development sector gathered for the second discussion since last December to discuss problems facing the industry.

Talk quickly turned to the long-standing problems developers are having with the City of Yellowknife - a relationship described as "adversarial" by Bill Aho, owner of Central Mechanical Systems Ltd.

"There's 27 lots available from the city for residential development. That's not very many, especially if there's 100 more people who want residential homes," said Konge.

Many members of the audience asked why more lots were not available.

Amendments to the zoning bylaw in regards to Phase VII of the Niven Lake subdivision were again a hot topic. Aho said paving and sidewalk costs were added into the cost of the lots which "jacked your land costs by 20 per cent right away."

Aho said the high costs of land were tough to stomach.

"It'd be crazy to spend $160,000 for a piece of rock. There's just nothing there to develop within a reasonable cost," said Aho.

"We understand the urgency of the current situation," said city councillor Cory Vanthuyne, who talked at length during the meeting.

Developer Gerry Borschneck laid a fair amount of blame for high housing costs on the city's energy-efficiency standards - adopted in 2008 - which he said boosted construction costs by $40,000 to $50,000. The new standards, some of the most stringent in the country, require new homes to be built at an EnerGuide rating of 80; homes in Yellowknife built before 2008 were typically in the 72 range. The rating relates to how well a home can retain heat.

City councillors David Wind, Amanda Mallon, and Paul Falvo were also in attendance.

Wind expressed frustration at the model for land distribution in the territory.

"I think we need a completely different model for housing," said Wind, who requested submissions be sent to city administration for the city's General Plan, which is being reworked this year.

"All our land is parcelled out in small pieces and funnelled through MACA (the territorial department of Municipal and Community Affairs) to the city of Yellowknife and then onto the housing market, and I think that's a big problem."

Konge said notes outlining the problems and the solutions proposed at the meeting would be put into a letter and sent to city council and MLAs.