'Status quo is not acceptable': B.C. may remove some housing approval powers from local governments

The British Columbia government is considering taking away some of the permit powers municipal governments have to approve housing construction in an effort to get more homes built in the province, the housing minister says.

David Eby, who's also the attorney general, said the government is considering introducing legislation and regulatory changes this fall that could take the final decision-making authority for housing permit approvals out of the hands of local governments.

“The bottom line is that municipalities are not approving enough housing for our population growth,” Eby said in an interview. “I think it's quite possible that we're going to need to be more prescriptive. One thing is clear is that the status quo is not acceptable.”

Too many housing development proposals become stalled at the permit approval stage as local councils deliberate over building heights, parking issues and the character of neighbourhoods, he said.

This is happening as homeless encampments pop up across the province, rental units are difficult to find, house prices escalate and thousands of people are arriving in B.C. looking for places to live, said Eby.

Eby said cities should have the right to say where housing needs to go, what is a priority heritage area and where they want growth, “but they shouldn't be allowed to decide whether or not the housing goes ahead, which is currently where we are.”

Eby said the government is looking at other jurisdictions that have implemented similar policies to increase housing supply, including California, Oregon, Washington stateand New Zealand, where state-level governments recently set minimum targets.

Craig Hodge, a member of the Union of B.C. Municipalities executive and a city councillor in Coquitlam, said the union has been working with the province on housing issues, but Eby's comments are a concern.

“We are receiving mixed messages right now and that is concerning, particularly because the UBCM and the province have had a long history of working together,” said Hodge. “My main concern about some of the things the minister is talking about is making sure that we maintain local autonomy and the decision-making process in our communities.”