British Columbia’s housing minister says he’s “encouraged” by the progress Port Moody is making towards meeting housing targets set by his government.
In a letter to the city’s mayor, Meghan Lahti, and council, Ravi Kahlon said even though Port Moody came up short in achieving the target of 231 net new units in the first year of new provincial legislation designed to spur construction of new homes in urban areas, the 1,450 building permits issued so far would — if delivered — support the city “in meeting its future housing targets.”
Furthermore, Kahlon added, amendments to Port Moody’s zoning bylaws to support the construction of small-scale multi-unit housing as well as transit-oriented development, along with ongoing visioning work for the neighbourhoods around the Moody Centre and Inlet Centre SkyTrain stations as well as the completion of the city’s interim housing needs report “reflect a dedication to addressing Port Moody’s housing needs.”
But in a presentation to council last November, social planner Liam McLellan said the city’s long term prospects for achieving its housing targets are a bit more uncertain.
He said while some planned projects have secured amendments to zoning and official community plan bylaws, their developers have yet to apply for development or building permits.
Mary De Paoli, Port Moody’s manager of policy planning, said some of the projects have been in limbo for more than five years.
“We don’t know how many of these are going to get built,” she said.
Coun. Diana Dilworth said external factors the city can’t control, like market and economic forces, financing challenges and labour costs, can hinder projects moving forward.
“We know that many, many homes that have been approved will never be built,” she said.
Still, Kahlon said, “Port Moody has made satisfactory progress to meeting its housing targets for the first year.”
Kahlon added he hopes the city will continue its efforts “to create the necessary conditions to support more homes for people to meet targets.”
Port Moody’s second annual progress report on its housing targets is due in November.
Cities that don’t meet the targets set by the province can be subject to government intervention in its powers to make bylaws and issue permits as well as the appointment of advisors to review municipal records and make recommendations.
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