West Kelowna wants more support from the province to achieve mandated housing targets.
The city received its housing target order to build 2,226 units within five years, on Aug 1, 2024. A staff update at council’s Mar. 11 meeting showed that 100 new housing units were completed within the reporting period (Aug. 2024-Jan 2025) and 36 were lost through demolition, for a net total of 64 new units. The city’s first-year target is 289 units.
Councillor Stephen Johnston said he has long struggled with housing targets and questioned who they are serving.
“Are they serving a greater purpose or are they facilitating more red tape and bureaucracy, and could we better use that time to make an impact on approval timelines, developing more housing and getting more community planning done?”
Mayor Gord Milsom added that the province needs to step up with more support.
“We need help with our infrastructure, to fund firefighting with tall buildings, pipes in the ground, transit and transportation, there are so many areas that require assistance,” he said.
Coun. Jason Friesen pointed out that the city is in a unique situation.
“Being adjacent to and having Westbank First Nation (WFN) in our larger community boundary,” he said, noting several completed and current housing developments on WFN lands. “If the market is saturated and it all happens to occur within WFN, developers aren’t going to build within West Kelowna proper.”
Friesen asked staff how the situation might be addressed before the provincial government becomes “heavy-handed.”
“The conversation has been one-sided at this point,” said Brent Magnan, director of development approvals. “We have responded to say these are our concerns in writing as part of the original order when it was granted. We didn’t receive a response on that.”
Magnan added the situation will be stressed further with the province if it happens that the city isn’t meeting its housing targets.
“That will lay heavily into our position as to why we are not necessarily in control of units, and also, heavily reliant on our neighbouring community.”
According to the provincial government’s website, an advisor may be appointed to review a municipality’s progress and require it to enact or amend bylaws or accept or reject permits to help meet housing targets. As a last resort, the province may take legal steps (Order in Council) to exercise governmental authority.
Earlier in the meeting, Milsom noted the receipt of nearly $8 million through the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund. The money will help fast-track 233 additional homes within the next three years and support the construction of 780 units over the next decade.
