Five-year housing target set for West Kelowna, other B.C. communities

Jul 30, 2024 | 12:24 PM

The City of West Kelowna has been included in the third round of the province’s housing target program.

Under the initiative, West Kelowna was tasked with building 2,266 new housing units within the next five years.

The homes in the Central Okanagan are part of more than 17,000 new units across 10 B.C. communities ordered under the third round of the program.

The communities identified as having the greatest housing need and assigned targets in the third round of the program are:

New Westminster – 4,432
Port Coquitlam – 2,279
West Kelowna – 2,266
City of Langley – 1,844
Prince George – 1,803
Mission – 1,798
North Cowichan – 1,233
Colwood – 940
View Royal – 585
North Saanich – 419

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

“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.”

In addition to the targets, the B.C. government sent housing guidelines to each municipality that included a number of recommendations such as the number of units required by size, such as one- or two-bedroom units; the needs for rental versus owned units; how many below-market units should be built; and how many units with on-site supports are needed.

Of the 17,599 target homes outlined in the third round of the program, the province recommended 4,200 of them have below-market rates.

To ensure the municipalities meet the housing targets, the province will be providing support through programs such as the Growing Communities Fund, financial aid to support work involving bylaws and official community plans, and by running a second round of the Local Government Development Approvals Program.

Previous iterations of the program saw housing targets set for the City of Kelowna and the City of Kamloops.

by Liam Verster

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