‘No more’: Housing Minister denies West Vancouver’s request for extension on legislation compliance
Posted July 30, 2024 2:52 pm.
Last Updated July 30, 2024 3:21 pm.
BC Housing Minster Ravi Kahlon says he will not grant the District of West Vancouver an extension to align with housing legislation aimed at increasing small-scale multi-unit (SSMU) builds.
Days after the province put the the municipality on notice for failing to meet its goals, West Vancouver councillors agreed on Monday to ask for more time. By Tuesday afternoon, they got their answer.
In a post to social media, Kahlon said all communities across B.C. have to step up to address the housing crisis.
“West Vancouver council is the only community in B.C. which voted against allowing for housing options,” said Kahlon. “There will be no more extensions. We need to get housing approved and built.”
The district was sent a 30-day non-compliance notice last week to make necessary bylaw changes or else “a ministerial order could be issued.”
In a statement to 1130 NewsRadio, Kahlon says other B.C. communities’ requests are under review on the basis that they would struggle with infrastructure-related matters.
“However, the District of West Vancouver is the only council that said flat out they don’t want this type of housing in their community. West Vancouver has had the time necessary to make these changes. It’s up to their council to meet the deadline, and if they don’t, then the province will have to take the next steps to make these changes,” said Kahlon.
He says the whole province is facing the same challenge as in West Vancouver: people are looking for housing they can afford.
“West Vancouver produced its own report that indicated that nearly two-thirds of their work force comes from outside of their city. Those people would love to be able to live in the city they work in. This is about creating more homes so people can live in the communities they love,” Kahlon said.
West Vancouver councillors on Monday came to the consensus that more time was needed. During the district’s meeting, councillors’ availability during the next month, including vacation dates in August, were noted as reasons why the municipality may not be able to move into compliance within the 30-day notice.
“The 30-day deadline given recently by the Minister is Aug. 24, but since August is normally Council’s ‘break’ we have several councillors unable to attend meetings until September. To enable all members to be present, we have set the matter down for Sept. 23,” Coun. Nora Gambioli told CityNews Tuesday morning.
However, some people didn’t feel an extension was necessary. Jennifer Bradshaw, a director at Abundance Housing Vancouver, says the deadlines given to municipalities have already been reasonable.
“The province is basically telling them, ‘Enough is enough, we need you to pull your weight and start building housing,’ especially where there already is a lot of transit infrastructure, like bus stations, rapid transit, etc.,” Bradshaw told 1130 NewsRadio.
“The provincial government is trying to fundamentally increase housing, especially in West Vancouver and the City of Vancouver,” she continued. “And a lot of these older municipalities, not in the Fraser Valley, have not really been pulling their weight when it comes to housing production.”
This is particularly the case in some areas of Metro Vancouver and West Vancouver, she noted, pointing to neighbourhoods like the British Properties, which are low-density.
Bradshaw says she feels the government is doing the right thing by “putting its foot down” to push municipalities to build more housing.
On Thursday, July 25, Kahlon said the legislation aimed at fixing outdated zoning rules had been adopted by almost 90 per cent of communities. SSMU housing includes row homes, triplexes, and townhouses.
Out of 188 municipal governments, 162 had adopted the SSMU legislation through local bylaws, the province said, adding another nine were “actively working to adopt the legislation.”
The B.C. government explains that SSMU housing “creates more options for the kinds of housing people are looking for.”
As part of B.C.’s Homes for People plan, the SSMU legislation was passed in November 2023. A month later, the province says local governments were provided with regulations and policy manuals to support them in the implementation of new rules, “with a deadline for local governments to amend local bylaws by June 30, 2024.”
Two B.C. communities — the District of Wells and the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality — have been given extensions due to wildfire impacts.
