Housing reform advocacy groups representing Victoria and communities across B.C. are calling on the province to take greater action to fight the housing crisis.
Victoria housing advocacy group Homes for Living YYJ – a mix of homeowners and renters, including policy analysts, mapping/zoning specialists and students – is among the eight signatories. The group advocates for more homes through policy reform to make Greater Victoria more affordable for people across the income and housing needs spectrum.
“There are still far too many barriers to building housing,” director Sam Holland said in a news release. "Exclusionary zoning, high fees, and lengthy permitting timelines are keeping new homes scarce and rents and prices high."
While the province has made significant progress permitting new apartment buildings near transit as well as small-scale housing in local neighbourhoods, more work is needed to expand the supply of apartments, multiplexes, and townhouses in major cities.
The letter calls for more action to encourage cities to meet mandates on housing targets, including financial incentives for cities making progress and penalties for cities falling behind; expanding the supply of public, affordable housing by exempting BC Housing, First Nations, and non-profits from local zoning; and by increasing funding for new public housing.
The groups would also like to see more stringent requirements on cities to permit multiplexes in local neighbourhoods, including binding standards for minimum densities and height, and for cities to legalize apartment buildings near transit.
The letter also calls for reduced municipal development charges on infill development, and for the province to provide cities more revenue options for infrastructure. It asks the province to reform outdated provisions in the BC Building Code and other technical standards to reduce costs and create more flexibility for homebuilders.
"We're already seeing new multiplexes geared towards young families getting built in Victoria thanks to reforms made by the province," Holland said. “But apartment buildings remain illegal to build in much of the Capital Region thanks to outdated zoning codes, and cities aren't moving fast enough to change that. The province needs to step in."
