FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• What is the Provincial Housing Target for New Westminster?
• Was the City meeting its previous housing targets?
• Will the City be able to meet the higher Provincial target?
• How will the new Provincial target and guidelines affect tenants?
• Will there be enough electricity, water, and other infrastructure for everyone?
• Can the City approve units faster?
• How will the City monitor progress on the Provincial targets?

What is the Provincial housing target for New Westminster?

The total five-year housing target for the City of New Westminster is 4,432 net new units over five years. The target is 75% of the total estimated housing need based on the Province’s methodology. The target will be measured using an annual cumulative number for each Progress Reporting Period:

Was the City meeting its previous housing targets?

The City previously measured progress on housing targets by looking at a combination of annual development approvals, building permit issuance, and occupancy permit issuance. Over 2021 – 2023 the City issued building permits and approved development permits for more than the 584/year annual target. But the development industry has not yet completed enough units to meet the target, as shown by the low number of occupancy permits issued.

Will the City be able to meet the higher provincial target?

The City anticipates we have enough capacity in our current Zoning Bylaw to meet the housing targets. Our Official Community Plan (OCP) will also be updated to align with new Transit Oriented Development Area and Small Scale Multi-Unit Housing legislation, which will further ensure there is more than enough capacity to enable the required growth.

City Council consistently approves rezoning applications (including market/affordable rental and supportive projects) to support housing choices in New Westminster.

The City may be unable to achieve the Provincial targets because whether or not development happens is mostly not within the City’s control. For example:

• While the City anticipates having enough capacity, a number of factors must also have favourable conditions in order for development to proceed including: construction costs, skilled trades costs/availability, market value, and level of risk. The region is currently experiencing a slowdown in development due to unfavourable conditions in these areas. For instance, BC Building Trades (BCBT) released a warning that over 52,000 more construction workers are required in BC in June 2024.
• The Province’s target is set for the number of occupancy permits issued. In the last three years, the development industry built fewer units than the City approved. For example, the City has only issued occupancy permits for avg. 350 net new units/year in the last three years (2021 through 2023), while we issued building permits for avg. 670 new units/year, and development approvals for avg. 620 new units/year in that same period.

To meet the Provincial target, nearly all of the 6,000 new residential units currently underway (i.e. under construction, approved but not yet under construction, or under planning review) would need to achieve occupancy within the 5-year window. But units generally take 1.5 to 4 years for construction. Considering the issues outlined above, it is unlikely all 6,000 units will be completed and occupancy permits issued in the required time.

How will the new provincial target and guidelines affect tenants?

Both the City of New Westminster and the Residential Tenancy Act have policies in place to support tenants facing relocation. The City is also in the process of updating its Tenant Protection Policy. This policy will aim to mitigate the impacts of redevelopment of such sites for tenants, consistent with current City policies. As the City implements the new Provincial housing legislation, a continued objective will be to strike an appropriate balance between developing housing to meet the targets and maintaining existing rental housing stock which provides significant ‘affordable’ market rental units in the city.

Will there be enough electricity, water, and other infrastructure for everyone?

The new target is higher than previous City targets, and combined with the implications of the other new housing legislation, will result in a higher and more dispersed population and housing supply than previously planned for. This will bring the need for additional amenities, services and schools to serve the new population. This will also require modeling and asset management plans to be updated with consideration for these new, much more general growth areas.

Can the City approve units faster?

The City has recently completed a comprehensive review of our full development review process. This review found no fundamental issues that were causing undue delays to the review process. This is primarily because the City has historically taken a proactive approach to streamlining processes and implementing new tools as they become available. Three key next steps identified were: 1) to complete the digital permitting project so all applications may be made and monitored virtually; 2) improve our outward-facing and internal documents, such as digital handouts describing application processes; and 3) ensure there is continuous monitoring and improvement of the processes, tools and requirements. Council has endorsed advancing all three actions.

How will the City monitor progress on the provincial targets?

The City will be required to provide an annual progress report, as well as a 6-month interim report in the first year. Progress will be measured by: 1) the annual cumulative housing target, measured as total number of occupancy permits issued minus total number of demolitions; and 2) other actions taken by the municipality toward meeting the target, such as updating planning documents to align with housing targets, adoption of other policies/initiatives toward meeting the targets, and other approvals (i.e. rezoning approvals, building permits issued) that will meet the targets.