Ravi Kahlon appoints special advisors in West Vancouver and Oak Bay
Why are they so far behind their targets?
B.C. appoints advisors for West Vancouver and Oak Bay, slams progress on housing targets. Alec Lazenby, Vancouver Sun, January 30. West Vancouver and Oak Bay are way behind their targets. BC has appointed special advisors to check out what’s going on, report back to the province, and make recommendations.
In December, Kahlon revealed that while West Vancouver had been expected to build 220 homes between September 2023 and September 2024 as part of the province’s five year housing targets for select municipalities, it had built 56.
Oak Bay was to build 58 units but only completed 16.
In contrast, Kelowna’s already met its total 2024-2025 target in six months:
The first year target was set at 1,363.
The city is to report back annually with one interim report.
That report set for council’s eyes Monday shows the city completed 1,501 net new units over the first six months from July 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2024.
Questions
Ron Mattiussi (who’s served as director of planning and chief administrative officer for Kelowna) will be the advisor for West Vancouver, and James Ridge (who’s served as deputy CAO for Vancouver, CAO for Burlington, and CAO for the district of North Van) will be the advisor for Oak Bay.
Specific questions:
In West Vancouver, Kahlon said the advisor’s focus will be on reviewing zoning bylaws for small-scale multi-unit housing and projects council has rejected. He also wants a review of the Taylor Way area plan with a view toward developing housing around transit.
In Oak Bay, the housing minister wants to know why a proposal for 40 units of rental housing at Carnarvon Park was rejected, and whether the community’s process for negotiating amenity funding with developers is serving as a barrier to project proposals.
Powers of the advisor
The Housing Supply Act, passed in November 2022, specifies that if a municipal government isn’t allowing enough housing to meet the target set by the province, the province may appoint special advisors or issue directives.
6 (1) This Part applies if the minister determines, after reviewing a housing target progress report submitted by a specified municipality under section 4 (3) (b) (ii), that the specified municipality
(a) has not met a housing target that applies to it, and
(b) has not made satisfactory progress toward meeting the housing target.
(2) If the minister makes a determination referred to in subsection (1), the minister may do one or both of the following:
(a) appoint one or more advisors under section 8 [advisor] in relation to the specified municipality;
(b) issue a directive under section 11 [directive] to the specified municipality.
Section 8:
8 (1) The minister may appoint one or more advisors to review one or more of the following:
(a) the actions taken by a specified municipality toward meeting a housing target that applies to it;
(b) the current and previous policies, practices and processes of the specified municipality in relation to housing development;
(c) the progress of the specified municipality toward meeting the housing target;
(d) any actions that the specified municipality intends to take toward meeting the housing target;
(e) any other matters set out in the regulations.
(2) For the purposes of conducting a review under subsection (1) in relation to a specified municipality, an advisor may, at any reasonable time,
(a) enter an office or other premises of the specified municipality, and
(b) subject to subsection (3), inspect any record or system of the specified municipality.
(3) An advisor must not inspect a record respecting
(a) a part of a meeting of the council of a specified municipality that is closed to the public under section 90 [meetings that may or must be closed to the public] of the Community Charter,
(b) a part of a meeting of the Council of the City of Vancouver that is closed to the public under section 165.2 [meetings that may or must be closed to the public] of the Vancouver Charter, or
(c) a prescribed matter.
(4)Subsection (3) (a) and (b) does not apply in relation to a record if the council of the specified municipality, or the Council of the City of Vancouver, as applicable, provides public access to the record.
More
Setting housing targets for municipalities - initial introduction of the Housing Supply Act