Thursday, March 28, 2024

Three Greater Victoria municipalities have been fast-tracked to build more homes

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The province has selected 10 communities which it has identified as being the most in need of having new homes built as fast as possible to accommodate growing populations.

BC announced its Housing Supply Act last November to fast-track new homes being built as a priority and put forth legislation to help municipalities meet their goals based on their needs. Of the 10 communities identified in the first wave of housing necessity, three are located in Greater Victoria.

Victoria, Saanich and Oak Bay have all been selected as municipalities that need to do more and faster to build homes for their prospective residents. 

“We welcome being part of a first wave of communities challenged to accelerate building homes for people,” said Mayor Marianne Alto of Victoria. “These targets reflect the city’s own commitment to housing current and future Victorians.”

“This is a positive step toward creating more homes for more people to live in Saanich,” added Mayor Dean Murdock of Saanich. “We look forward to working with the province to set targets and welcome their support to achieve our housing goals.”

BC says that over the summer, the province will be consulting with the selected municipalities to set their housing targets. From there, it will be up to the communities and their local governments to speed up their processes in order to build new homes, or else the province will need to step in and make those decisions for them. 

Aside from Kamloops, all seven of the other municipalities selected are in the Greater Vancouver area. 

Later this year, a second group of eight to 10 municipalities will be selected and notified as part of the Housing Supply Act.

The Housing Supply Act is part of the Province’s Homes for People action plan to deliver more homes in BC., building on BC’s $19-billion housing investment and the introduction of effective tools to tackle speculation and increase the number of rentals.

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Curtis Blandy
curtis@victoriabuzz.com

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