HOUSING TARGET REPORT UPDATE – REPORTING PERIOD 1.1 AUGUST 1, 2024 TO JANUARY 31, 2025

BACKGROUND

Municipalities play an important role in addressing housing supply and demand. A municipality’s primary role in supplying housing is through the establishment of land use designations and housing policies in the Official Community Plan (OCP) and land use regulations in the Zoning Bylaw, improvements to development approval processes, and completion of Housing Needs Reports. While municipalities play a supporting role in the provision of housing, new construction continues to be market-driven and funded by private investment.

On May 31, 2023, the Province passed the Housing Supply Act and Housing Supply Regulation, which set housing targets in municipalities deemed to have the greatest need for new housing and the highest projected population growth. Since 2023, the Province has released housing targets for three cohorts, groups of municipalities that each have unique housing target orders, based on provincial requirements particular to the community need.

On July 30, 2024, the Province announced the third cohort of municipalities selected to provide housing, which included the Town of View Royal. The View Royal’s HTO targets 585 new homes to be constructed over the next five years. The effective date of the Town’s HTO is between August 1, 2024 and July 31, 2029.

This update report is the first of six progress reports required by the Province. Each report will be shared with Council via a staff report. An overview of the reporting periods is as follows:

To fulfill all provincial requirements, municipalities are required to:

1. report back to the Province within 45 days of the end of the reporting period (March 17, 2025);
2. Publish the report on the Town’s website; and
3. Submit Council’s motion to the Province.

DISCUSSION

Progress reports provide a comprehensive summary of housing and status on the municipal permit approval processes, specifically the reports detail in-stream rezoning, development permit, and building permit applications, as well as completed units and demolitions. The year-over-year net increase of completed dwelling units will be used to establish the Town’s progress towards its HTO.

Municipalities are expected to create favourable conditions to permit housing development to meet HTOs. This requires on-going initiatives or actions, which may include updates to the OCP, Zoning Bylaw, streamlining development approval processes, or adopting new supporting policies. The approach of each municipality may differ depending on existing bylaws, policies, procedures, and staff resources.

If a municipality is not able to meet its HTO, the Minister of Housing may appoint an advisor to the municipality to review the actions and progress made and may provide recommendations to further advance progress to achieve the Order. When there are instances where compliance is not met, the Province may issue a directive to a municipality to enact or amend a bylaw or accept or reject a permit to satisfy the target.

The Province provided a standard template for reporting purposes. A copy of the full report is attached for Council’s review (Attachment 1).

During the first reporting period, there were four net new units completed in the Town. However, the Town provided partial occupancy for a total of 178 new dwelling units at 15 and 17 Erskine Lane on May 31, 2024, and July 26, 2024, respectively. The partial occupancies were completed approximately 8 weeks (15 Erskine Lane) and 1 week (17 Erskine Lane), prior to the Provincial Housing Reporting Period. The breakdown of units includes: Studio – 8; 1Bdr – 90; 2Bdr – 60, and 3Bdr – 20. On February 19, 2025, partial occupancy of 158 new dwelling units was provided at 21 and 23 Erskine Lane. The breakdown of units includes: Studio – 8; 1Bdr – 70; 2Bdr – 60, and 3Bdr – 20. These units will be captured in the next reporting period.

There are approximately 548 multi-family dwelling units under construction in the Town. Some of the larger developments included of the total units noted, include: 181 Island Highway (82 units); 7 Erskine Lane (79 Units), 258 Helmcken (55 Units), 2000 West Park Lane (48 Units), 1449 Burnside Road West (234 Units), and 244 Island Highway (37 Units). These units are expected to be captured in subsequent reporting periods.

ANALYSIS

Impacts and implications can be summarized as follows:

ALIGNMENT

The recommended option aligns with the Town’s following core guiding documents as follows:

Strategic Plan:

Enhance Liveability

• Goal 3: Access to a broad range of housing options to meet the needs of various ages, family types and incomes.
• Goal 4: Ensure proximity to services.

Official Community Plan:

• Land Use Policy LU1.4 Diversity of Forms and Uses: Support a variety of residential and commercial forms and uses to encourage socio-economic diversity, and provide for the diverse needs of youth, families and an aging population.
• Housing Objective HS1A: Create and maintain a range of housing types and tenures to meet the needs of current and future View Royal residents, including families, seniors, people with disabilities and low-income households.
• Housing Objective HS1B: Work toward an increase in the supply of housing that is affordable to young families, and encourages existing residents to remain in the community as their lifestyles and income levels change.
• Housing Policy HS1.1 Range of Housing Types: Ensure the policies of this Plan and the regulations of the Zoning Bylaw support a range of housing, including detached homes, small lot subdivisions, apartments, townhouses, secondary suites and other typologies that meet the housing needs of current and future residents.
• Housing Policy HS2.1 Change Areas Housing: Promote the location of higher density housing in the mixed-use Change Areas to bring people closer to transit, shops and services, create vibrant activity hubs and reduce the need for car travel. New housing should respond to housing needs no currently met in the community. This includes housing for young adults, young families and seniors.
• Housing Policy HS2.2 Infill Housing: Consider targeted infill housing within established residential areas to provide new ground-oriented housing, with a focus on providing new family-oriented housing close to parks, schools and other community amenities.

Other Policy Documents:

Community Climate Action Strategy

• Big Move: 1 (Shift Beyond the Car):
  • Shift 1: Optimize land use planning tools to enable compact community growth
  • 1.1.1 Prioritize compact forms of development in residential zones (accessory dwelling units, missing middle zoning)
  • 1.1.3 Allow for more mixed use and greater density along corridors (especially those well served by transit), and close to service and employment areas
  • 1.1.4 Develop employment areas in the Town
  • 1.1.6 Continue to advocate for strong urban growth boundaries

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GOAL:

The desired level of public participation for the recommended option is: [X] Inform [ ] Consult [ ] Involve [ ] Collaborate [ ] Empower [ ] N/A

TIME CRITICAL:

The Town must complete the HTO progress report within 45 days of the end of the reporting period; the Town’s deadline is March 17, 2025. The Town is required to submit their report along with a Council resolution confirming receipt and review of the summary report.

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Housing Target Report Update for Reporting Period 1.1 – August 1, 2024 to January 31, 2025