On November 13 at the Paradox Vancouver Hotel, in a room filled with members and elected municipal officials, HAVAN’s annual CONNECT Municipal Dinner focused on delivering high-value opportunities for in-person connections and discussions facing the local homebuilding industry.
The evening began with special guest presenter Kevin Lee, CHBA National CEO, who shared insights on CHBA’s work at the federal level on behalf of members, highlighting advocacy wins, programs and resources, and upcoming initiatives. If you missed it, Kevin’s slide deck is now available.
The keynote discussion featured panelists Mayor Linda Buchanan of the City of North Vancouver and Mayor Eric Woodward of the Township of Langley, and moderated by award-winning journalist Frances Bula of The Globe and Mail. The candid conversation brought together two mayors from very different communities, both facing the same pressure to deliver more housing, faster and more affordably, while under stringent oversight and signifiant legislative changes introduced by the province.
In case you missed the event, today’s Monday Briefing provides a summary of the conversation.
Thank you to our CONNECT sponsors: patron sponsor FortisBC; event sponsors BC Hydro Power Smart, Federated Insurance, and The Home Depot; photography sponsor The White Space Co.; video sponsor 360hometours.ca, and table sponsor Polygon Homes.
State of Two Municipalities
Mayor Buchanan opened the conversation describing her municipality as one of the densest in Canada, only 12 square kilometres, home to about 58,000 residents with a near 50–50 split of owners and renters. Multifamily homes dominate, and the City saw 9.9 percent population growth from 2016 to 2021. Having recently secured $18.6 million through the federal Housing Accelerator Fund, Buchanan stated: “We have delivered housing for decades.” Projects are still moving, though some larger ones are slower due to market conditions.
In contrast, Mayor Woodward described the Township of Langley as having hundreds of acres of undeveloped urban land, shaped by rapid suburban growth. The Township has 2,900 homes currently under construction, and projections point to a population of 275,000 by 2050. Yet, Mayor Woodward surprised many in the room when he said he welcomed a slower pace, “We’re happy about that,” he said. “We’ve had so much growth for so many years with a complete lack of concern for infrastructure.”
The Township is now updating community plans, transportation corridors, parks, and recreation facilities. If the next decade is defined by anything, he suggested, it will be planning first, building second.
Housing targets, Bill 47 and provincial direction
Both mayors expressed frustration with provincial directives and housing targets, questioning whether new requirements address the real reasons housing does or does not get built.
Mayor Buchanan questioned why, as a municipality that consistently exceeds growth targets, the City of North Vancouver has been put on the ‘naughty list’ by the province. She and other mayors across the region believe the province is overreaching.
She called for a more collaborate approach where all levels of government and industry should sit together at a table, rather than working through a top-down directive model.
Woodward also pushed against the provincial mandates, calling housing targets “not a serious policy effort”, arguing they fail to address the real barriers: infrastructure costs and land economics. Housing targets, he said, “won’t deliver a single unit of housing that wouldn’t have been built anyway.” He commented that Bill 47, which pre-zones areas for transit-oriented development, removes incentives for local governments to plan around transit: “If the province gives density away for free, I still have to buy land for schools, parks, a community centre. That pushes DCCs higher. It becomes a spiral upwards.”
Developers as partners—or not?
Frances Bula asked the mayors to describe their relationship with the homebuilding community. Both reported frequent engagement, but with different philosophies.
Mayor Buchanan emphasized partnerships: “They [the builders] are a partner with us at the table helping build the community we envision.” She emphasized the City’s efforts to modernize permitting, support smaller builders, and maintain transparency on timelines.
Mayor Woodward offered a different tone, explaining that the Township no longer prioritizes “building anything, anywhere,” and is prioritizing alignment with community vision over profit for any one developer.
Infrastructure: the shared barrier
There was one issue on which both mayors were aligned: housing supply cannot expand without infrastructure investment.
In a region that has been plagued by worsening traffic congestion, Buchanan pointed to transportation as the biggest unresolved barrier. She also talked about the serious need to explore alternative revenue models to support infrastructure funding as relying only on the current models doesn’t work.
Woodward went further: “There is no alternative to growth paying for growth unless senior government steps up.” He said the province could “eliminate the Metro DCC tomorrow with a stroke of a pen.”
In a controversial statement, Woodward went on to say that reducing or eliminating DCCs would not lower home prices, “You could drop DCCs to zero tomorrow and the price of a home would be exactly the same.” A tone-deaf remark to an audience of builders grappling with increased DCCs, especially in the Township. In our advocacy efforts, HAVAN has made it clear that while DCCs are not the only contributor to housing costs, reductions would have a material impact on affordability.
Reflecting on the perspective of ‘growth pays for growth’, both mayors spoke to the need for DCCs need to remain in the absence of other viable revenue models. Mayor Buchanan acknowledged new development and buyers are paying a portion but not exclusively as she agrees that all residents benefit with improved infrastructure.
Mayor Woodward remained steadfast in his agreement that new development must pay for infrastructure growth “There’s absolutely no chance that a local government council is ever going to impose on property tax ratepayers subsidizing development. It’s never going to happen.” With a municipal election coming up in the fall, we will be monitoring to see if other mayors and councillors up for re-election will be voicing the same erroneous rhetoric to their voting constituents.
Step Code, building changes, and cost escalation
On the topic of whether Step Code implementation and varying timelines are increasing costs and reducing affordability, Mayor Buchanan supported the need to support climate goals but acknowledged the compounding impact: “Every incremental change adds cost. We need to balance outcomes with what actually gets homes built.” Woodward argued the province should stop allowing municipalities to accelerate Step Code requirements, creating inconsistent rules across the region.
Metro Vancouver governance and amalgamation of municipalities
Frances Bula shifted the conversation about Metro Vancouver’s governance model and what one thing the mayors would change if there was an opportunity.
Mayor Woodward responded that he would reduce the size of Metro Vancouver’s board, and then further suggested reducing the number of municipalities to align planning, fee structures, and reduce complexity for businesses working across jurisdictions. Mayor Buchanan agreed fewer jurisdictions may help builders working regionally, but opposed amalgamation, saying smaller municipalities are more nimble and responsive to residents.
Final thoughts
In a notable moment near the end of the evening, Mayor Buchanan spoke about housing and how unattainable that dream has become for many young people today. She reflected that our younger generation now feels “a little bit helpless” in the face of constant negativity about housing. “We owe the next generation hope,” she said, “and a path to long-term housing security, whether that is rental or a form of ownership that doesn’t cost a million dollars for 700 square feet.”
Mayor Woodward closed by stressing that lasting solutions will depend on coordinated support from senior governments: “Growth has to pay for growth unless senior government steps up.” Without long-term infrastructure funding, the region cannot deliver the homes future generations need.
It was an evening of candid discussion and the fact remains that the housing system is complex and cannot be solved through municipal action alone, though local decisions still matter. As policy continues to evolve, HAVAN will be at the table with government, bringing member insights and solutions that keep the industry moving and get more homes built for our region.
Share your thoughts at wendy@havan.ca.
HAVAN continues to work with CHBA BC and CHBA to advocate for all levels of government to work together to address the challenges of the housing industry including zoning restrictions, density limits, and NIMBYism.
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