A report on housing presented to Whistler council this week has spurred the Resort Municipality of Whistler to create a Task Force.

The report detailed housing issues that Whistler is facing. It noted the increase of workers in the area, Airbnb and the drop in the US dollar that is all said to have resulted in Whistler’s housing crunch.

Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden says representatives from a number of organizations have been invited to form part of the ‘Mayor’s Task Force on Housing’, including Whistler Blackcomb, the Hotel Association and community members at large, among others. Wilhelm-Morden says “This isn’t a group to do studies, it’s a group to act on housing”

There’s a few things that can be done immediately according to the Mayor. Enforcement of Airbnb is one of them. Whilhelm-Morden says there is already so much public accommodation permitted in Whistler that having Airbnb creeping into neighbourhoods is “not acceptable”.

Also, the title for a piece of property in Cheakamus Crossing will be transferred to the Whistler Housing Authority to build a rental property. It will likely have about 25 units, and will mirror another of their properties’ design.

Filed under: Airbnb, Housing, Resort Municipality of Whistler, Whistler