The British Columbia government is considering taking away some of the permit powers municipal governments have to approve housing construction in an effort to get more homes built in the province, the housing minister says.
David Eby said the government is considering introducing legislation and regulatory changes this fall that could take the final decision-making authority for housing permit approvals out of the hands of local governments.
“The bottom line is that municipalities are not approving enough housing for our population growth,” Eby said in an interview. “I think it’s quite possible that we’re going to need to be more prescriptive. … The status quo is not acceptable.”
Too many housing development proposals become stalled at the permit approval stage as local councils deliberate over building heights, parking issues and the character of neighbourhoods, he said.
This is happening as homeless encampments pop up across the province, rental units are difficult to find, house prices escalate and thousands of people are arriving in B.C. looking for places to live, said Eby.
Cities should have the right to say where housing needs to go, what is a priority heritage area and where they want growth, “but they shouldn’t be allowed to decide whether or not the housing goes ahead, which is currently where we are,” he said.
The government is looking at other jurisdictions that have implemented similar policies to increase housing supply, including California, Oregon, Washington state and New Zealand, where state-level governments have been setting minimum targets.
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps welcomed Eby’s comments. She said that the city had been consulted on the provincial government’s plans. “There is a dire need for housing in the province, especially in Victoria. This announcement signals that the status quo is unacceptable, that we need stronger steps and the province is finally giving its marching orders.”
Rather than viewing the initiative as the provincial government taking away planning power — in the form of official community plans — from local governments, Helps sees the move as a new tool to implement them.
“We can’t keep stumbling along and not resolve this important issue due to unreasonable political pushback.”
Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes said he is grateful that the province is addressing the housing crisis across the province and hopes the province will also work on some of the efficiencies around housing permit applications.
“We recently applied for a grant to hire more staff, to improve our information technology in order to streamline our efficiencies,” said Haynes. “It is critical to have the staff required and the resources needed to process applications in a timely way. Right now there is a three-year backlog.”
He would also like to see funding to support municipalities in updating their official community plans more often so that new projects reflect the accurate needs of the community.
Craig Hodge, a member of the Union of B.C. Municipalities executive and a city councillor in Coquitlam, said the union has been working with the province on housing issues, but Eby’s comments are a concern.
“We are receiving mixed messages right now and that is concerning, particularly because the UBCM and the province have had a long history of working together,” Hodge said. “My main concern about some of the things the minister is talking about is making sure that we maintain local autonomy and the decision-making process in our communities.”
The municipalities union does not believe there is a one-size fits all housing formula for communities, especially while there is a labour shortage and other issues that affect housing development, he said.
Every building permit application is different, said Hodge, adding that for every housing development Eby considers too slow, there are others that can proceed from permits to completion within one year.
“When you take that power away from municipalities you’re taking away that power from the citizens of those municipalities,” he said.
Eby said it’s likely the government will move forward with legislation and regulatory changes this fall that focus on minimum housing development standards. “I do think we’re going to have to ultimately prescribe some minimum standards for municipalities, but right now it’s a very active conversation and a lot of policy work as we prepare for the fall session when we hope to introduce some legislation on this.”
