Port Moody is unlikely to achieve the housing target mandated for the city by the province in the next five years.
In a presentation to council last Tuesday, Nov. 12, social planner Liam McLellan said “without a significant increase in housing approvals,” Port Moody won’t reach the minimum target of 1,695 new units of occupied housing by September 2028.
That number was set in legislation enacted by the B.C. government in October 2023, to help address a need to get more homes built for a growing population.
McLellan said while the city has approved 6,325 new units that have had rezoning amendments adopted, or received their development or building permits, only about 1,450 of them are expected to be ready for occupancy by the province’s deadline.
The first phase of Wesgroup Properties’ massive Inlet District project that will eventually comprise 2,300 new homes, for instance, isn’t expected to be completed until 2029, with full build-out a decade later.
Port Moody's new Inlet District will 'well-connected' and 'pedestrian focused': developer https://t.co/RyI3OfwA61
— Tri-City News (@TriCityNews) January 26, 2024
The demolition or removal of 59 old single-family homes on the 14.8-acre site that used to be known as Coronation Park to make way for its redevelopment also contributed to Port Moody coming up short of the minimum net of 231 new homes expected by the province in the first year of the five-year target mandate.
McLellan said while 264 new housing units were completed for occupancy between October 2023, and March 2024, another 96 were demolished.
“Port Moody has seen a higher number of demolished residential units in recent years due to an increase in the redevelopment of residential lots instead of commercial or industrial properties.”
A delay to completion of another project on St. George Street also set the city shy of attaining the first-year target, McLellan added.
Its 162 condo units are expected to be ready for occupancy in 2025.
McLellan said the anticipated completion next year of three other projects should allow Port Moody to meet the minimum second-year target of 499 new homes, provided all of them are finished on schedule.
But after that, the picture gets fuzzier.
McLellan said while some planned projects have secured amendments to zoning and official community plan bylaws, they’ve yet to apply for a development or building permit.
Mary De Paoli, Port Moody’s manager of policy planning, said “two or three” such 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.
And there’s the rub with meeting proscribed targets, said Coun. Diana Dilworth. They don’t account for external factors beyond the city’s control like market forces, the economy, financing challenges or labour costs.
“We know that many, many homes that have been approved will never be built,” she said, adding other communities are facing similar challenges to attain the targets set for them.
While Port Moody mayor Meghan Lahti had initially expressed optimism the city was in a good position to reach the five-year target back when it was announced, she conceded Tuesday, “we have some big challenges,” adding, “there is a place for us to advocate for some leniency and change in those legislated requirements.”
According to McLellan, cities that don’t meet their housing targets can be subject to several interventions by the province, including taking a role in a municipality’s powers to make bylaws and issue permits as well as the appointment of advisors to review municipal records and make recommendations for meeting the targets.
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