An expert panel on housing supply and affordability in the province is out with an interim report on what they’ve heard from months of feedback from stakeholders.
Former NDP MLA Joy MacPhail, who chairs the panel – says part of their focus is on how cities and municipalities do their zoning, with an increasing number of them running out of space to develop, and are now pushing up against agricultural land.
“In Vancouver, the city where I live, over 70-per cent of the city is zoned for single family houses. That makes it pretty hard to build much more housing when you have those kinds of zoning restrictions and I expect that’s true of Kamloops as well,” she said on the NL Noon Report.
“There isn’t anybody who wants to erode the Agricultural Land Reserve – well – I shouldn’t say that because there are some. But certainly we’re not interested in that at all because it’s not necessary. We need the protection of the ALR. But you could on a single family lot built a duplex for instance if the zoning would permit that.”
MacPhail says one area of focus is how the various levels of government could coordinate their efforts better.
“Of course the way that municipalities raise monies to build their communities is something that the provincial government can work with municipalities to make it fairer and expedite housing more greatly,” she said.
“Then of course the municipalities themselves are responsible for zoning and roadwork and parking regulations etc. and so they’re the front line.”
The panel was formed by the provincial and federal governments last year. A final report with actionable recommendations from the panel is expected to be completed in January.
Liberals say NDP plan is ‘all talk and no action’
The BC Liberals say the release of the interim Future of Housing Supply and Affordability report shows that the NDP have no plans to address housing issues noting they’re delaying the action necessary to implement real change.
“Though the work on this report is welcomed and does carry with it ideas that are worth exploring, it still highlights this government’s abysmally slow progress on the housing file,” said Housing Critic Ben Stewart.
“What this report fails to do is provide the actionable ideas and bold steps needed to make a difference for struggling British Columbians now.”
He says with public engagement extended into next year, this interim report will not translate into relief for British Columbians. Futher, he says, with the 2021 budget delayed to April 30, people who need affordable housing will have to wait even longer for relief.
“The state of British Columbia’s housing crisis now rests solely in the hands of the NDP, so expectations are high that they can deliver on their promises. I can only hope that the full report, once tabled in spring, will translate directly into some real results on the housing file,” added Stewart.
The Liberals claim the latest BC Housing capital report shows that just 2,963 of the promised 114,000 units of housing were actually opened by the NDP.
