BC government orders three Metro Vancouver cities to add 8,600 homes

BC government orders New Westminster, Port Coquitlam, and Langley City to add 8,600 homes over the next five years through 2029

The newly built Pier West residential towers on Fraser River waterfront of downtown New Westminster. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Another 10 cities across British Columbia have been issued new housing supply target orders.

This represents the third set of municipal governments required to catalyze the completion — rather than just the approval — of a net gain in new homes over the next five years, through 2029.

“The best way to solve the housing crisis and build more homes for people is by working together,” said Ravi Kahlon, BC Minister of Housing, in a statement today.

“Our government is working closely with municipalities to ensure more homes are built in communities with the greatest needs. By having these targets, all levels of government will be able to align to address the housing crisis and help build more affordable housing for people in these communities for years to come.”

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The third set of cities includes the three Metro Vancouver jurisdictions of the City of New Westminster, City of Port Coquitlam, and City of Langley, which have a combined total target order of nearly 8,600 net new homes.

The largest of the target orders is for the City of New Westminster, which has been given a quota of 4,432 new net homes to meet, including 2,133 ownership units and 2,298 secured purpose-built rental units, with 1,109 market rental units and 1,189 below-market units. As well, the municipal government should catalyze 67 supportive housing units.

The overall unit size mix of the target order is 2,423 studio and one-bedroom units, 832 two-bedroom units, and 1,176 three-bedroom units.

“The City of New Westminster has always valued our partnership with the Province in advancing our work to realize the needs of our community,” said New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone in a statement today.

“And now more than ever we need to work shoulder-to-shoulder to create communities that not only offer the necessary housing options for our citizens, but also provide the required and necessary services that residents need and deserve.”

According to the municipal government’s standalone release in reaction to the provincial government’s announcement, the provincial target order for New Westminster is higher than the City’s 2021 Council-endorsed target of 5,841 net new units over 10 years, which was based on a provincially-mandated Housing Needs Report. The City of New Westminster also noted that the ambitious housing targets also require significant investments in infrastructure, park spaces, schools, and high-quality amenities.

The provincial government notes that its set target orders are based on 75% of the provincial government’s estimated housing need for each municipality.

The second largest target order of 2,279 units was provided to the City of Port Coquitlam. This includes 1,277 ownership units and 1,002 secured purpose-built rental units, with 494 market rental units and 508 below-market rental units, plus 50 supportive housing units. The overall unit size mix is 1,244 studio and one-bedroom units, 422 two-bedroom units, and 612 three-bedroom units.

In reaction to the target order given to his municipal government today, Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West criticized the provincial government’s focus on catalyzing smaller sized units, as opposed to more family-friendly units, which are defined as units with at least two bedrooms.

“The Province’s one-size fits all housing order demands an overwhelming focus on studio/one bedroom units which it defines as 470 sqft & is already being cited by developers who’ve disliked our efforts to see family-friendly, livable homes,” wrote West on a post on X.

There have been growing grumblings from numerous municipal governments over the impacts to local control over community planning and municipal revenue levels to fund public benefits and infrastructure.

The City of Langley was provided with a target order of 1,844 units, including 1,034 ownership units and 810 secured purpose-built rental units. The provincial government has further prescribed a purpose-built rental housing tenure mix of 390 market rental units, 420 below-market rental units, and 23 supportive housing units, and a unit size mix of 987 studio and one-bedroom units, 348 two-bedroom units, and 508 three-bedroom units.

“With Langley City’s forward-thinking official community plan, we are well on our way to meeting our provincial housing targets,” said Nathan Pachal, Mayor of Langley, in a statement.

“These targets ensure that all local governments are doing their part to meet the housing needs of current and future British Columbians. Our housing targets identify the need for investment in affordable housing for people transitioning out of homelessness, workers, seniors, and families. We look forward to working with the Province to achieve these goals.”

Before the end of this decade, Langley City Centre in the City of Langley will become the Expo Line’s new easternmost terminus station following the completion and opening of the new Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension. While this opens up the potential for transit-oriented development, the developable building forms across a larger area of this particular jurisdiction are limited by the flight path height restrictions of the nearby Langley Regional Airport.

The other seven cities in the third set of municipal government with target orders are the Fraser Valley jurisdiction of Mission (1,798 units), West Kelowna (2,266 units), Colwood (940 units), North Cowichan (1,233 units), Prince George (1,803 units), View Royal (585 units), and North Saanich (419 units).

The combined target order for all 10 cities in this third set is a net gain of 17,599 new homes by 2029, which represents a 58% increase in overall housing to be built when compared to historical trends, according to the provincial government. Municipal governments will be evaluated after six months, then every year, on their progress towards achieving these new housing completions.

The target orders for the second set of 10 cities announced in June 2024 was led by the City of Surrey’s target order of 27,256 units over the next five years. Surrey’s target order is just behind the City of Vancouver, which was given a target order of 28,900 units over five years in September 2023 as part of the first set of 10 cities.

In June 2024, the City of Vancouver reported it is experiencing a slow start to meeting its target orders.

To date, after announcing three sets of target orders, each involving 10 cities, a total of 30 municipal governments across BC are under these orders. Up to 17 more cities could still receive target orders, as the provincial government’s Housing Supply Act of 2023 lists a total of 43 cities. Target orders have not yet been issued for major Metro Vancouver cities such as Burnaby, Coquitlam, and Richmond, which have been particularly vocal in their opposition to various provincial housing legislations.

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