B.C. releases recommendations to accelerate new housing in Oak Bay and West Vancouver

Maryse Zeidler · CBC News

· Posted: May 22, 2025 8:25 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

B.C.'s Housing Ministry has released 2 reports with recommendations to physique much homes successful 2 affluent suburbs of Greater Vancouver and Victoria. 

In 2023, the state ordered 60,000 caller homes to beryllium built successful 10 municipalities implicit the adjacent 5 years. Of that group, the Housing Ministry says lone 2 — Oak Bay and West Vancouver — lag acold down their targets. 

"Every assemblage and each section authorities has a relation to play arsenic we enactment unneurotic to lick the lodging crisis, and marque definite that our children and grandchildren tin physique a bully beingness successful B.C. successful homes they tin afford," Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon said successful a written statement. 

The ministry says West Vancouver delivered 58 of its 220 caller units successful the archetypal twelvemonth of its lodging targets, and Oak Bay delivered 16 of 56.

Earlier this year, Kahlon appointed advisers to reappraisal the 2 districts' deficiency of progress. The ministry says they conducted a two-month reappraisal that assessed processes like development approval, land-use planning, and lodging policies and practices.

Among respective points, the reports enactment the governmental clime successful some municipalities and the apt reasons wherefore lodging targets person not been met. 

"West Vancouver has had a well-deserved estimation arsenic an affluent enclave resistant to change," reads 1 report. 

"We heard repeatedly from radical that they had paid a premium to unrecorded successful Oak Bay truthful they would not person to acquisition maturation oregon change," reads the other. 

In some reports, the advisers besides enactment precocious onshore prices and reduced involvement from the improvement assemblage arsenic different factors inhibiting growth. 

But the reports besides enactment that galore successful the communities, including residents, unit and elected officials, are onboard with creating much lodging and person been moving to bash so.

'This is not astir punishing communities'

For Oak Bay, the recommendations see delegating insignificant variances successful improvement permits to unit successful bid to forestall the politicization of projects erstwhile they marque their mode to council. 

The recommendations besides see amending parking requirements to a minimum of 1 stall per unit, which the study says is successful enactment with different municipalities. 

For West Vancouver, recommendations see amending the Official Community Plan and zoning bylaws to summation density successful the Park Royal-Taylor Way area, arsenic good as Ambleside and Dunderave Village. 

The ministry says it volition springiness councils 30 days to remark connected the directives, aft which they volition beryllium issued nether the province's Housing Supply Act. 

"Let maine beryllium clear: This is not astir punishing communities oregon removing authorization from locally elected municipal councils," Kahlon said successful a written statement.

"The extremity of section lodging targets is centred astir moving with municipalities to region unnecessary barriers to affordability and get much homes built for radical faster, and ensuring we are gathering steadfast and economically vibrant neighbourhoods for people."

Recognizing challenges

West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager told CBC News the report for his assemblage is well-written and the advisers "did a precise bully job."

"I deliberation they did a precise bully job," helium said. 

"They admit the challenges to the market that exist, and they besides admit the successes we've had." 

Sager said modifying the Official Community Plan to summation density is already successful progress. He said successful immoderate cases, determination has been beardown assemblage enactment for densification on Ambleside.

As for the report's proposal that the Park Royal country go a transit hub, Sager noted that it requires a committedness from the state and semipermanent transit readying to code maturation on each of the North Shore. 

Oak Bay Mayor echoed Sager's comments, saying the recommendations didn't travel arsenic a surprise.

"It benignant of validates what we've been saying for the past twelvemonth oregon so," Murdoch said. 

"I deliberation they did a precise thorough look astatine each of the aspects and truly astatine the extremity of the time reiterated what we said to the state connected respective occasions, astir precocious successful January."