Port Moody’s mayor says the city is ready to step up its housing game now that it’s one of 10 municipalities targeted by the provincial government to help address the housing crisis.
Mayor Meghan Lahti said the city is looking forward “to working with the province to set housing targets and help ensure the right kind of homes are being built here.”
She added, “We recognize that there are opportunities to diversify our housing stock with affordable and senior housing, as well as accessible and family-friendly units.”
Wednesday, B.C.’s housing minister Ravi Kahlon announced the Housing Supply Act will give the province the authority to set housing targets in municipalities, starting with those where the need is the greatest and which have the highest projected growth.
He said the targets will encourage those communities to address local barriers to construction, like zoning bylaws and development approval processes, so housing can get built faster.
“The housing crisis is hurting people and holding back our economy,” Kahlon said in a news release. “We’re taking action with our partners to cut red tape and get homes built faster for people.”
While a housing needs assessment commissioned by Port Moody in 2021 determined the city has plenty of new homes being built or in the approval process to meet projected growth targets, it needs more diversity of units to better accommodate families, single people, low income earners, immigrants and people with disabilities.
The study, by CitySpaces Consulting, also said the gap between available housing in Port Moody and what households can afford to pay is growing as sales prices for homes and townhouses, as well as rents, have more than doubled since 2013.
To help reduce that gap, while also creating more housing quicker, the consulting company recommended the city work toward implementing standardized policies in development expectations and incentives, as well as find ways to expedite approvals.
But, it added, that could require more staff.
“It appears that the local government may need to scale-up staffing levels to match the scale of development.”
Lahti told the Tri-City News a review of the city’s development approval process is already underway with a staff report to council expected in the fall and tweaks to the current process have “resulted in an improved structure.”
She said the city is identifying its staffing needs so it can meet the province’s development expectations but, “we are anticipating further discussions with the province to outline the identified staffing challenges.”
Lahti added the province will also have to increase its support for the funding of affordable housing through BC Housing programs.
Along with Port Moody, other communities identified by the province include:
- Abbotsford
- Delta
- Kamloops
- District of North Vancouver
- Oak Bay
- Saanich
- Vancouver
- Victoria
- West Vancouver
According to the province, each was assessed on several weighted parameters like its amount of available housing in relation to population growth, changes in the residential density over the past 10 years relative to the amount of land available for residential construction, the proximity and availability of amenities like health care, child care and recreation and its urgency for social housing.
The province said it expects to identify another eight to 10 municipalities for closer scrutiny later this year.
