Sorry, it’s not Santa Claus – it’s Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon. Last week the Ministry of Housing announced the next 20 communities to be issued prescribed housing targets – also known as the ‘naughty list’. The first segment of the naughty list released last September identified 10 communities falling short of meeting their regional growth strategy targets for many years. In many cases, these communities had adopted anti-growth policies and or layered on complex and byzantine approval processes that resulted in extended delays, increased costs, and choked supply.
These ‘List of 10’ on the naughty list were: Abbotsford, Delta, the District of North Vancouver, Kamloops, Oak Bay, Port Moody, Saanich, Vancouver, Victoria, and West Vancouver. None of the cities on the ‘List of 10’ were surprising and featured prominently in the three GR Growth Reports HAVAN issued in 2017, 2015, and 2014 that illustrated the shortfalls in meeting their housing targets.
The release date of the new ‘List of 20’ has been delayed beyond the initially anticipated timeframe of late 2023, which could explain the decision to expand the list from 10 to 20. The ‘List of 20’ include Central Saanich, Chilliwack, Colwood, Esquimalt, Kelowna, City of Langley, Maple Ridge, Mission, Nanaimo, New Westminster, North Cowichan, North Saanich, City of North Vancouver, Port Coquitlam, Prince George, Sidney, Surrey, View Royal, West Kelowna, and White Rock. This leaves about 17 communities left to be addressed with prescribed housing targets, with the List of 10 having been issued numbers per the provincial criteria, and the list of 20 still pending.
While the first 10 offered no real surprises the List of 20 included the City of North Vancouver, New Westminster, and the City of Langley who have demonstrated a commitment to consistently meeting growth targets and have been actively involved in seeking to adopt a proactive approach to delivering housing. There may be some issues in terms of types of housing amongst the mix, but numbers are being met.
Not surprisingly both Mayor Linda Buchanan, the City of North Vancouver (CNV), and Mayor Patrick Johnston, the City of New Westminster have both pushed back. Mayor Buchanan posted her response on “X” (Twitter) and noted her surprise that the province believes CNV needs to be issued targets as council and staff have a “thoughtful and responsible plan for growth” and have “prioritized work to ensure we can remain a place for anyone to call home”. The mayor also states directly that if the province is going to stipulate housing targets, then they need to ante up with infrastructure funding to support those targets including transit links and improvements to the Second Narrows crossing to ease the current traffic gridlock.
Mayor Johnstone shared similar sentiments. “Frankly, we don’t need new orders to get housing built in New Westminster. We are already meeting and exceeding regional growth targets. We’re meeting and exceeding our housing needs.” He goes on to say “…we are pre-zoning land for supportive housing, we are providing capital support, we are fast-tracking approvals, we are doing everything we can to get it built, and it’s not getting built … because the province refuses to fund affordable housing at a scale that meets the crisis.”
Minister Kahlon seems to have acknowledged the concerns of these mayors and in the BC Government release stated. “Our goal for the next 20 communities is to build on the work they are already doing, while they continue to implement the recent provincial legislative changes. This group includes communities that are doing well on housing and some that need to do more.”
The BC Government’s news release also speaks directly to these communities; “… City of North Vancouver, Kelowna, New Westminster and the City of Langley, are demonstrating how local governments should respond to their growing needs and are taking even further actions to achieve their goals.”
Nonetheless, this last announcement is indicative of the reactions many of the provincial initiatives are inciting from the municipalities where the intent and direction of the housing policies are seen as a provincial overreach and exceeding the province’s mandate. Both Mayors Buchanan and Johnston indicate they are willing to work with the province but would appreciate a little more consideration than reading about it in the media.
It seems to be another instance where the overriding need to work collaboratively is being minimized by both sides and it is time for a much more conciliatory approach that also includes industry. We have been advocating for a non-politicized, collaborative effort from all levels of authority and industry for some time and will continue to do so, and offer a challenge to all levels: We are ready – are you? Please join HAVAN in pressing home on this issue; the silos must go, and the bickering must stop – this message has to be sent to all stakeholders, and the sooner it is adopted the sooner we can truly address the housing crisis.
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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QUICK BITES …
- In the context of assigning priorities, this table from the City of Vancouver staff reviews what they perceive as the impact of various initiatives on housing supply. Note that Multiplex zoning/approval is designated as “medium impact”. We are only aware of approximately 100-150 pending applications, but the mechanisms and regulations are not yet finalized. Regardless, this number will likely go up, but we also anticipate an organic rate of growth in this space as it is complicated, can represent thin margins, is challenging to finance, and will primarily be driven by individual homeowners – not developers. Providing the opportunity to sever or stratify would go a long way to increase opportunity with infill multiplexes. Interesting that medium and high-density MURBs are assigned a high priority.
- This commentary on land (costs) and development issues in the Daily Commercial News suggests they are a primary issue in the delivery of affordable housing. The issue was directed at the City of Vancouver but also affects most Metro municipalities. Included are comments from construction associations and HAVAN.
- In follow up to the Federal Innovation Fund mentioned in last week’s MMB, please see this story from the Government of Canada National Housing Strategy in regards to 3-D printing of homes in Leamington, Ontario (the first in a series of three reports). It remains to be seen what level of performance these homes will reach and the practicality of this technology, but the potential is there.
- A report in Business in Vancouver notes that the goals of the CleanBC program impact the ability to ratchet down on cost and move the needle on affordability, and the inconsistency of Step Code application across Metro. Comments are offered by HAVAN member Chris Hill of bCollective in North Van who is working to provide an open-source platform using a prefab construction panel approach to infill housing to help meet supply, high performance, and resiliency goals.
- Western Investor reviews a report by the Pembina Institute on the cost to retrofit existing housing to meet a high-performance low carbon threshold – spoiler alert: It’s expensive and payback will be elusive with an estimated $43 billion in government funding (provincial and federal) required. The impact on GHG from existing housing stock built before 1985 exceeds that of all new housing combined by a large margin.
- As part of the federal Canada Housing Plan, it is intended to direct housing development plans onto surplus government lands including Canada Post properties and Department of National Defence holdings. This would reflect a change in the policy of securing the “highest and best” value that has directed Canada Lands efforts in repurposing surplus lands to date; Garrison Crossing and the Jericho Lands being prime examples.
