Province looks to speed up building of homes, with single home lots to see changes to increase allowed housing

A new action plan from the Provincial Government is looking to build on Premier David Eby's goal of ramping up housing construction in British Columbia, with the Premier introducing his Homes for People program on Monday.

The main thrust of the proposal one that will speed up approvals for home construction and make some changes to civic zoning  and permitting themes that would allow for that.

“If you’ve scrolled through rental listings or seen the prices of homes in your community, you know how tough it is to find an affordable, decent place to live. 

Even though our province is currently building more housing than ever before, it’s just not enough to meet the need. This plan will take us to the next level with unprecedented actions to tackle the challenges head on, delivering even more homes for people, faster.” -- Premier David Eby

The program, which is a bit light in the details as to how it all will work, is Focused on four priorities – unlocking more homes faster; delivering better, more affordable homes; helping those with the greatest housing need; and creating a housing market for people, not speculators.

Some of the elements that were outlined on Monday include:

Among the key takeaways from the Monday launch include allowing for up to four units to be constructed on what is now considered a single family lot, a move that may in many cases make the days of Public Hearings somewhat redundant for municipal governments across the province.

The province has in the past expressed some frustration with municipal government over its inability to move forward on much needed housing, as local officials worry about community response to proposed housing.

Monday's program also featured plans to rein in property flipping and speculation, as well as to make it more desirable for single family home owners to renovate their current homes to include secondary suites.

The announcement of the new approach to home building can be reviewed here.

The plan was also released as part of a video presentation on Monday.

Some additional documentation that expands on the program is available from the links below:

Homes for People Action Plan

Homes for People Technical Briefing 

The Monday announcement also includes a map that highlights Provincially led housing projects across the province, the Prince Rupert map identifying some of the recent work in the community towards affordable and supportive housing.

More notes on Housing issues in Prince Rupert can be reviewed here.

How the announcement has been received across the province was the subject of a number of media articles from Monday, you can explore some of that feedback from our Political Blog D'Arcy McGee here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.