Oak Bay is not on track to meet the housing targets for this year set by the province, according to a staff report from the district.
The province named Oak Bay — along with Victoria and Saanich — in the first cohort of 10 priority municipalities for housing targets over the next five years.
Another 20 municipalities were added to the list getting targets this week, including eight on the Island: Central Saanich, Colwood, Esquimalt, Nanaimo, North Cowichan, North Saanich, Sidney and View Royal.
Oak Bay’s goal was set at 664 new housing units over five years, with 56 in the first year, but only seven net new units have been completed in the district in the six months since the targets were set, a district staff report says.
The new units are all secondary rental suites. Sixteen projects with a total of 32 net new units are currently in the development pipeline, awaiting approval for rezoning, development permit or building permit.
Mayor Kevin Murdoch said the district has virtually no vacant or public land, limiting opportunities for significant projects.
“Not to say we don’t want to do it. It’s just that the reality is for any new any housing to go in, something has to come down,” he said.
The high cost of land and limited staff capacity also restrict the district’s ability to meet the province’s targets, said Murdoch, noting the district is currently working to bring its bylaws in line with provincial requirements to allow up to four units per single-family lot.
“We’re creating the conditions for people to build. I think that’s the primary goal here.”
In a survey on the future of Oak Bay’s Carvarvon Park, the district is seeking feedback on four options, one of which includes a three-storey building with 24 units of affordable housing to be built on top of an indoor pickleball court.
Casey Edge, executive director of Victoria Residential Builders Association, said Oak Bay is “notorious for obstructing new development,” and it’s too early to say whether anything has changed.
The only real measure of Oak Bay’s co-operation will be whether housing starts in the district not only increase, but add to the overall supply, he said.
In 2023, 32 homes were built in the district, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data, but 23 of the homes were single-family homes and were likely replacing other single-family homes, Edge said.
“We’ll see if it gets any easier to build in Oak Bay. We don’t know that yet,” Edge said.
If a municipality is not making sufficient progress on its targets, the municipality needs to submit a report outlining the actions it will take over the next two years to reach targets, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing said in a statement.
If there is still no progress, the housing minister can appoint an advisor to review municipal processes to assess its effectiveness in approving housing. The minister can consider making directives or approving a building permit, the ministry spokesperson said.
The spokesperson acknowledged it will take time for projects to be developed and said the province is committed to helping municipalities address barriers preventing them from meeting targets.
The province has passed legislation that supports faster permitting and construction times, and greater density with small-scale multi-unit housing and transit-oriented development, and has fixed outdated zoning rules to help build more homes, the spokesperson said.
Standardized housing designs are also expected to be announced later this year.
