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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Yellowknife's lower and middle income earners are paying more than their fair share on rent and mortgage payments, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Tim Wake, an affordable housing consultant from B.C., facilitated a two-day affordable housing workshop, Tuesday and Wednesday. The workshops – put on in partnership between the city, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the NWT Housing Corporation – allowed participants to provide suggestions on how affordable housing can be created in the city, and to give feedback on some of the barriers preventing development. - Herb Mathisen/NNSL photo Yellowknife housing cost averages Owned new stick-built home ($400,000): $2,638.18 per month Owned stick-built house ($322,000): $2,491.08 per month Owned modular home ($279,085): $2,273.25 per month Owned condo apartment ($194,813): $1,847.21 per month Rented three bedroom apartment: $1,568 per month Rented two bedroom apartment: $1,411 per month Rented one bedroom apartment: $1,178 per month Rented bachelor suite: $902 per month. - source 2006 Census: Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Sandra Turner, corporate representative for the NWT with the mortgage and housing corporation, said a newly released report showed that many middle-income households making $40,000 to $100,000 a year - representing 34 per cent of the population - are overpaying on their rent or mortgages due to a lack of affordable housing.

A household should not spend more than 30 per cent of its income on shelter, according to the corporation, but 17 per cent of middle-income earners are spending beyond that.

"There is this 34 per cent that nobody is looking after," she said.

Of low income households making less than $40,000 - representing 16 per cent of all households - 63 per cent are paying more than 30 per cent of their incomes on housing. Only 1.6 per cent of high income earners of $100,000-plus per year - representing 50 per cent of Yellowknife households - are contributing more than 30 per cent of their incomes toward housing costs.

Turner said different zoning or incentive tools can be used to cap prices on housing, so they don't soar in the free market. She said one solution, for instance, would be to allow a developer who bought 50 lots to put 60 units down on them, and require them to set the extra ten units aside - as townhouses, for example - as affordable housing.

A two-day workshop was held at city hall Tuesday and Wednesday to try to tackle the affordable housing issue.

Jeff Humble, the city's director of planning and lands, said Wednesday morning that a good cross-section of the public - from developers, lenders, social organizations and realtors - had attended sessions. Humble said the need to create more affordable housing units has been ongoing for some time.

"Yellowknife is known to be a place where housing is quite expensive," he said.

The workshops - a partnership between the city, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation and NWT Housing Corporation - facilitated discussion on some of the problems associated with developing affordable housing in the city.

On Wednesday morning, one of the biggest concerns raised was how high land prices were leading to higher housing costs.

The city is moving toward a full-cost recovery model with its new subdivisions, like Phase 7 of Niven Lake. The costs associated with developing the land and putting in various infrastructure are included into the price of the lots, meaning those purchasing them are paying for the services. Previously, infrastructure costs were paid by all taxpayers, through the city's general fund. Developers said these higher costs to individual buyers make it difficult to make the lots affordable.

"As a developer, what's driving you is costs," said Matthew Spence, owner of Northern Project Logistics.

"You want to maximize the use of available land."

Some called for the city to allow more units, or higher density units, onto lots. Humble acknowledged the Niven Lake subdivision was on the higher-end of the market, but said he believed there were opportunities around town, where infrastructure like roads and sewers either already existed or were "on the doorstep."

These lower development costs, he said, will hopefully lead to suitable opportunities for affordable housing. Humble pointed to six areas, including an extension of School Draw Avenue at the base of Tin Can Hill, and the downtown parking lot on Franklin and 50 Street, where development costs would be lower.