Peachland Councillor Dave Collins delivered a sobering update on the state of housing development in B.C. at council乌鸦传媒檚 June 10 meeting.
It followed his attendance at a recent Urban Development Institute (UDI) luncheon.
乌鸦传媒淚t was a rather grim luncheon,乌鸦传媒� Collins said, noting that developers are struggling to make projects financially viable amid rising costs.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a fundamental structural change in the cost of development,乌鸦传媒� he said, pointing to soaring prices for materials and labour, as well as fees from all levels of government乌鸦传媒攎unicipal charges alone can add up to $100,000 per unit.
Collins, a licensed realtor, said one of the most urgent concerns raised was the impending implementation of Step Code 3, an energy efficiency standard that would effectively invalidate existing building plans and add hundreds of thousands of dollars to project costs.
乌鸦传媒淏ecause if you've got a development file and drawings on file, well, you can throw those drawings out, Step Code 3 wipes that are drawing out,乌鸦传媒� he said.
He noted that developers aren乌鸦传媒檛 starting new projects乌鸦传媒攖hey乌鸦传媒檙e only finishing ones already underway.
乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e slowly going down into less and less building starts,乌鸦传媒� he said, pointing out that, in Peachland, 17 development parcels are up for sale, but no new ground is being broken. 乌鸦传媒淵ou can乌鸦传媒檛 force developers to lose money.乌鸦传媒�
Collins warned that the stalled growth puts pressure on the town乌鸦传媒檚 finances.
乌鸦传媒淚, for one, do not want to jack property tax rates up because we don乌鸦传媒檛 have a growing tax base,乌鸦传媒� he said.
Collins suggests that municipalities are going to have to think outside the box, and hopefully, the federal government will come to the rescue with some infrastructure money.
He said the ask from UDI is for the province to stop giving projects to municipalities because it takes up planning departments' time to implement these things.
Despite the challenges, there was some optimism. Collins noted that Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon has floated federal-level ideas to support housing delivery in BC. The UDI also urged reconsidering restrictions on short-term rentals, which previously helped developers reach pre-sale targets and secure financing.
乌鸦传媒淭here isn乌鸦传媒檛 one development project that doesn乌鸦传媒檛 need investors,乌鸦传媒� Collins said. 乌鸦传媒淏ut they乌鸦传媒檙e not in the market right now, because why would they be?乌鸦传媒�
The government does not have enough money to build housing, he pointed out.
乌鸦传媒淭hey can help, but they just don't. It's trillions of dollars. They're going to have to look at foreign buyers again, which used to help with presales and get projects off the ground.乌鸦传媒�
Mayor Patrick Van Minsel acknowledged the need for action.
乌鸦传媒淭his council will have to look at incentive programs for Peachland, and we will do that sooner rather than later,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e already working with federal and provincial governments乌鸦传媒攖hey just need to listen.乌鸦传媒�
Chief Administrative Officer Joe Creron also supported offering incentives like property tax relief for a few years to offset Development Cost Charges. But he said the responsibility doesn乌鸦传媒檛 fall on government alone.
乌鸦传媒淲e all have to look, not just government,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 getting tired of everybody blaming government. Yes, we are part of the problem, but so is the industry.乌鸦传媒�
