22 Jun 2026 Council meeting Housing

Pre-Zoning for Social Housing

Motion

That: 1. “Zoning Amendment Bylaw 2026 No. 4500.256” (Social Housing Zone) pass first reading; 2. “Zoning Amendment Bylaw 2026 No. 4500.256” pass second reading; and, 3. Council direct Staff to hold a Public Hearing for “Zoning Amendment Bylaw 2026 No. 4500.256”.

Sources

Agenda itemCity agenda

Staff reportPage 1

Purpose

To present the Pre-Zoning for Social Housing - Engagement Summary Report; and “Zoning Amendment Bylaw 2026 No. 4500.256” (Social Housing Zone) for Council consideration.

Staff report, page 1

Staff recommendation

That: 1. “Zoning Amendment Bylaw 2026 No. 4500.256” (Social Housing Zone) pass first reading; 2. “Zoning Amendment Bylaw 2026 No. 4500.256” pass second reading; and, 3. Council direct Staff to hold a Public Hearing for “Zoning Amendment Bylaw 2026 No. 4500.256”.

Staff report, page 1

DocumentsStaff report about Housing, Land Use & Urban Form

Ben Geselbracht Yes

Sorry, Councillor Gesselbrock. Thanks. Um, Mayor. Through you, I just wanted to say that, um, I do think that the prezoning for social housing makes a lot of sense. Um, I think it's important that we do reduce barriers to getting the much needed affordable housing built in the community. And it is one piece of a very multi - piece puzzle that can help. I will support this. I do want to recognise that I do have some reservations about the twenty percent threshold being set and we'll be watching this closely to see the uptake.

Questions and answers

Councillor Erin Hemmens
Yes

asked

Thank you. I concur. Thank you, worship. Yeah. I completely agree with Councillor Hennons. I am curious, however, the, pardon me. I agree with myself. Um, oh gosh. Hello Monday. Um, the survey and the workshop data are remarkably different. So the capital cost 41 percent that they strongly agree that it should be fully funded by government. But the workshop is one hundred percent disagree. So what's the variation there? Were we targeting developers in the workshop and residents

City staff answered

in the survey. Uh, through the MayorT Councillor Hemons. Yes, the workshop was held specifically with nonprofit housing providers. For profit housing providers and faith - based organisations because they have experience, uh, with, uh, providing social housing in an NINIMO as well as supportive and shelters. And so it was directly engagement with them, um, on these topics. Okay.

Councillor Ben Geselbracht
Yes

asked

Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Geselbroch. Thanks. Just a question on the. Barrier, the limit for affordability. We landed on 20 percent below market. And the range was 10 percent. And I guess, um, if we look at average CMHC housing costs, For a lot of people like low in the low income bracket, it's still going to be unaffordable. Uh, so it doesn't seem to me like it quite meets the mark in that sense. And I'm curious, um, one, using the average CMHC rent for NaNIMO as the benchmark. And then just going 20 percent below the average as opposed to like the low end. Because if we're doing average rent and say it's like 1800 dollars and going 20 percent while it's going to be like, you know, 1, 400 and that's still, you know, the limit of price range for like quite a lot of people. So, uh, yeah. So many of you could speak to

City staff answered

that. Yeah. Through the mayor to, uh, councillor Gesselbrock, we heard from the community, a desire for upwards of 30 percent or more, We heard from the developers a desire for 10 percent or less. And we heard from the, uh, nonprofit housing provider is somewhere between 15 to 25 percent We use the average market rent per CMHC because that aligns with the new DCC reduction definition, uh, that council looked at recently. And so we did ensure there was alignment there. Um, in terms of the level of affordability, um, it's a starting point. And it gives us an opportunity to amend it if we're seeing that it's not, um, affordable, but we also have to make sure that, um, it is financially viable for development to come forward. And so it's a recommendation right now that we start at 20 percent below market and then see how

followed up

the program progresses over time. Right. Okay. Yeah. And I guess the concern, you know, just looking at the different needs to make it, you know, actually affordable for low, medium income. And it does require, you know, building innovation, the cheaper financing and the removing some of these barriers. And so I think what we could see, and maybe it is just a matter of like sit back and see what happened. But I am concerned that we'll pre - zone a bunch of properties and get something that really isn't that affordable for the actual demographics we're trying to hit. So I just want to flag that as a, as a concern, um, and also I want to see something get done, um, and put forward and supportable and then adjust as we need to, as a strategy. But, uh, I do hold some serious reservations about the bar that was set there at the 20 percent. Thank you. Mr. Holmes, did you want to say something in

J. Holm

answeredDirector, Planning and Development

response? Uh, sure. Thank you, your worship. Maybe I'll just add, uh, to a bit of context. So we did hear from, uh, we do hear from a number of the nonprofit housing providers as well, and from BC Housing that often now, they're looking to, um, is maybe even more than what we're going to see in some of the BC housing projects that are coming forward. But we do see that they're targeting low end of market. Housing as well. So they have to, um, the viability, uh, issue, uh, if they, um, if they go too low, but actually over time, the idea is over time. And if we held, um, if public housing had been developed continuously developed through the 90s, early 2000s, um, it would, it would be held. You're not going to see the same rate rental rate increases as we've seen in the, in the private sector housing. So if, if nonprofit, um, holders do bring more to the table, even though it's, um, like you say, it's maybe not deeply affordable. Um. You know, based on current rents, you won't see the idea, part of the idea is you won't see the rents increase. As greatly as we've seen in the, um, in the market rental over time. Uh, so over time, we'll see the idea is we'll see a greater pool of non - market housing that's going to have, um, more gradual renting creases. Um, that's in line with the nonprofits mandates, um, so that's one of the things that we did here from some of the participants. I just

Councillor Paul Manly
Yes

asked

Thank you, Mayor. And through to you. Thank you for the report and for the, for the work. This applies mainly to future or for the, um, secondary urban cores, the urban core and corridors. Does it apply to the neighbourhood corridors or any other areas that we're for story

City staff answered

Manly, currently the scope includes primary centre, which is downtown. The seven secondary urban centres makes use quarter in urban, or sorry, and residential corridor. It will exclude the neighbourhood designation, the suburban neighbourhood designation and any other designation at this time. We're focusing where we have the higher, um, higher density and height options to make the projects viable. And where the good solid transit routes? Correct. Near transit routes and services and amenities. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.