The Upper Nicola Band says it’s hopeful to build more housing but says there are issues at hand.
Councillor Brian Holmes says much of the available land is in a floodplain and simply can’t be built on.
“We look at our reserve down in Quilchena, down on a floodplain. And we look at today’s standards, we wouldn’t able to build a house on that to today’s standards. So issues like that we have to consider.”
“Once we start looking at that stuff, the cost starts going up. It’s really difficult to move forward when we’re having to be challenged with issues like that.”
The reserve has dealt with serious flooding during the spring freshet in each of the past two years.
Holmes says though that the band is hopeful to move forward with housing projects, especially after signing an MOU with BC Housing this week, which was also signed onto by the Lower Nicola, Coldwater, Nooaitch and Shackan Indian bands.
“Given our location, we have to be kind of specific due to health and safety and just the areas that are available to us.”
The band does have a $4.8-million-dollar project on the way to build 24 new units which the province is funding, to be built just off of Douglas Lake Road.