Frustration dominates B.C. housing summit as mayors point finger at province
CTV
Many of British Columbia's mayors and councillors are in Vancouver for a two-day summit to discuss housing in their communities, and several came out swinging against provincial policies in the opening session Tuesday.
Many of British Columbia’s mayors and councillors are in Vancouver for a two-day summit to discuss housing in their communities, and several came out swinging against provincial policies in the opening session Tuesday.
In essence, municipalities have to execute the provincial government’s aggressive housing targets. Civic leaders are exasperated, saying not only were they not asked whether those targets are even possible, they haven’t been given enough resources to provide services for a flood of new residents.
The Union of BC Municipalities’ plenary panel was titled “Housing the next million British Columbians” and the six mayors on stage expressed various levels of frustration stemming from what they described as lack of financial support, unrealistic expectations and non-existent consultation on the BC NDP’s sweeping plans for dramatically expanded housing regulations.
The mayors point out that blanket approval for four- or six-plexes on single-family lots requires massive planning and investments in infrastructure – from transit to schools to the electrical grid to sewer capacity – many of which fall on their shoulders.
”We agree with the ultimate goals, the question is how to get there,” said Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto, who pointed out a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t acknowledge the different challenges communities have based on geography and demand.
Burnaby’s mayor told attendees his staff have crunched the numbers and for every 100 metres of single-family homes, it’ll cost a million dollars to upgrade services to four-plex or denser housing.
“It’s overwhelming when you get into the nuts and bolts of how this is going to work,” warned Mike Hurley, who also described he federal government as being “pretty absent” in the face of municipal challenges.
