3 of 10 B.C. municipalities under provincial housing mandate hit 1-year target
Only Victoria, Delta and the District of North Vancouver were able to meet or exceed Housing Supply Act quotas
Victoria, Delta and the District of North Vancouver were able to meet or exceed provincial quotas under new rules giving the B.C. government oversight of local housing, while other communities came close and some lagged.
The province announced housing targets for an initial 10 communities under its Housing Supply Act in September of 2023, which sets out the total minimum number of net new housing units that must be completed each year over a five-year period.
Net new means new units that are ready for move-in, minus units that were lost through demolition.
The measure was one of several initiatives from the previous NDP government meant to address the province's housing crisis.
At the time, the Ministry of Housing said the Housing Supply Act would lay "the foundation for tens of thousands more homes to be built faster in areas with the greatest needs" and cited a rate of 38 per cent beyond what was previously projected for the 10 communities.
Each community was assessed its own specific targets using a methodology that included the municipality's own most recent housing-needs report.
Victoria was the most successful after year one, building a net 1,477 units, more than double the 659 required by the province and 30 per cent of the five-year target.
In its progress report, it provided a list of "supportive actions" which helped, such as a missing middle housing initiative, funding to support non-market rental housing and fast-tracking approvals for certain projects.
The City of Delta and the District of North Vancouver achieved 109 per cent and 100 per cent of the one-year provincial guidelines, respectively.
Delta's mayor says the 561 net units it brought online, above the 514 required, was all to do with "strong efforts" to approve projects at all stages of development.
"Consensus with council to ensure that we removed a lot of blockages that had been happening over many, many years," said George Harvie. "We streamlined really, really well and had a really good response from our staff."
On the other side of the ledger, West Vancouver and Oak Bay fell short, only hitting 26 and 29 per cent respectively of required net units.
Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch said his municipality has developments in the works — the responsibility of just four staffers — that balance the province's demands and the character of Oak Bay.
"What we don't have is completions to occupancy," he said of the 16 net units it had residents move into, below the province's demand for 56.
"I think the province is going to look at all the things that we've done, and I don't think they'll have any complaints about the approach that we're taking here."
Family-friendly units?
Despite the vast amount of units Victoria built above the order it highlighted in its progress report, there's still more to do to create three-bedroom, family-friendly units and units at below-market rents.
Of the 1,477 net units, 919 are either studio or one-bedroom units, only 72 have three bedrooms, and 168 are rented at below-market rates.
The guidelines for its first cohort of 10 municipalities under the Housing Supply Act are to include more than 16,800 below-market rentals, said the province.
Vancouver hit 80 per cent of the year one target by mostly relying on housing starts that began three to five years ago to bring online 4,143 new net units.
"So obviously, with the pandemic, we did see a slowdown post-pandemic with housing construction," said Coun. Peter Meiszner about not meeting the 5,202 provincial target.
"There's been many factors that I know have affected everyone, including higher interest rates, inflation, labour shortage, etc. But things have really accelerated, and we will exceed those targets over the next five years."
Vancouver must complete 28,900 housing units by 2028. Meiszner is forecasting 33,000 by that deadline of various sizes, with 20,000 in stream as part of the Broadway corridor redevelopment.
"I am pretty confident," he said about an improved outlook for housing in Vancouver, where rents dropped in October compared to the year before.
Other city leaders, like Harvie, are also optimistic but say there are challenges for developers facing steep costs to proceed with projects like the 62 approved through Delta's city hall.
"I care about … shovels in the ground, actually having these actually being built," he said. "Nobody's pulling a building permit … because the numbers don't work. If we're not building, we're not solving the crisis."
'Challenges and opportunities'
The ministry says the progress reports were to be formally submitted to the province by Nov. 14, and each community will be assessed on its progress.
"The ministry will continue to work with municipalities to understand challenges and opportunities and to determine next steps, including if compliance measures are necessary," said the statement.
Under the Housing Supply Act, if the cumulative annual housing target has not been met, the municipality is required to submit planned actions it will take within two years to meet the target.
The minister of housing may also appoint an adviser to review the actions, policies, practices and progress of the municipality toward meeting the target.
Another 20 cities were added to provincial housing target orders following the original 10.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from CBC's The Early Edition