21-bc.-municipalities-granted-housing-legislation-extensions-after-all
| | | |

21 B.C. municipalities granted housing legislation extensions after all

ByCharles Brockman

Posted September 16, 2024 4:06 pm. Last Updated September 16, 2024 4:07 pm. The provincial government announced Monday it’s granted extensions to 21 municipalities that were having trouble meeting the deadline for adopting multi-unit housing legislation. The deadline was designed to force local governments to comply with the new provincial small-scale, multi-unit housing (SSMUH) legislation. In a release Monday, the province says it is now giving 21 communities more time. Where the SSMUH requirements apply, the following governments have been granted an extension for all zones: Northern Rockies Regional Municipality has been given until Dec. 31, 2024. Wells has been given until Dec. 31, 2024. City of North Vancouver has been given until June 1, 2025. Coquitlam has been given until June 30, 2025. Fraser Valley Regional District has been given until Dec. 31, 2025. Peace River Regional District has been given until Dec. 31, 2026. Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality has been given until June 30, 2027. Greenwood has been given until March 31, 2028. Osoyoos has been given until Dec. 31, 2029. Kitimat has been given until Dec. 31, 2030. Others have amended their bylaws for most areas of their community, the province says, but were granted an extension for certain areas and neighbourhoods where infrastructure upgrades are needed or underway, including: The Lougheed/Shaughnessy block in Port Coquitlam has been given until Dec. 31, 2025. Various areas within the Sunshine Coast Regional District have been given until Dec. 31, 2025. The 4th Avenue extension in Ladysmith has been given until Dec. 30, 2026. The Queensborough neighbourhood in New Westminster has been given until May 4, 2029. The Silver Creek and East Kawkawa Lake areas of Hope have been given until Dec. 30, 2030. Electoral Areas B, C, E and F in the Kitimat-Stikine Regional District have been given until Dec. 30, 2030. The Malone Road subdivision, Lot 5 Holland Creek, Forest Field Area, and south areas of Ladysmith have been given until Dec. 30, 2030. The Okanagan Falls and Faulder and Heritage Hills areas in the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District have been given until Dec. 30, 2030. Steveston in Richmond has been given until Dec. 30, 2030. Various areas in Kamloops, including the Rayleigh Waterworks District have been given until Dec. 31 2030. Part of the Proper neighbourhood and surrounding Hazel Park in Chilliwack have been given until Dec. 31, 2030. The Western Foreshore and Kye Bay areas of Comox have been given until Dec. 31, 2030. The province says seven requests for extensions from Ladysmith, Langley, Maple Ridge, the Mount Waddington Regional District, the Nanaimo Regional District, Sooke and View Royal were declined. “Communities that did not receive an extension have 90 days from the date they were first notified to adopt the new bylaws.” The extensions are frustrating District of West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager after Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon refused to grant West Vancouver an extension just weeks ago. “[I’m] very disappointed that they wouldn’t extend the same courtesy,” Sager told 1130 NewsRadio Monday. Sager thinks the government is pulling back now because the election is coming up and the legislation has seen pushback from mayors across the province. After meeting with the Union of BC Municipalities Monday, Sager says his city is not alone, feeling as though the housing ministry could have handled the legislation better. “I don’t think there’s a single mayor that is even remotely happy with the way this has been rolled out. They’re encroaching on municipal authority. Municipal responsibility is why we offer ourselves for public service, to do proper long-term planning that works in the community, to make sure that we have the proper infrastructure to service whatever is built — make sure that the simple things like the sewer pipes and the wire pipes are adequate. And so this one-size-fits-all dictated out of Victoria just seems to me and my council to be really offside,” said Sager. —With files from Srushti Gangdev.

bc.-businesses-seek-concrete-economic-vision-from-parties-ahead-of-fall-election
| |

B.C. businesses seek concrete economic vision from parties ahead of fall election

ByNews Staff

Posted September 10, 2024 1:15 pm. Last Updated September 10, 2024 8:49 pm. Leaders from a wide array of businesses in British Columbia are urging the province’s political parties to “deliver a clear and actionable plan” for revitalizing an economy that they say has pushed many residents into a “personal recession.” Groups representing the forestry and mining industries, independent businesses and contractors say they have sent a survey of 10 questions to leaders of political parties ahead of the fall election, asking for a clear response on their economic visions for B.C. and concrete steps to get there. Business Council of British Columbia president Laura Jones says her group is seeing more residents expressing a loss of hope in their “prospect of building a good life” in the province due to economic concerns, even if B.C. isn’t technically in a recession. Other business leaders say they want the next B.C. government to answer concerns about the high cost of doing business, government budget deficits, bureaucracy in delaying permitting of projects, public safety and acute labour shortages. The call for action comes the same day provincial finance minister Katrine Conroy is unveiling B.C.’s first quarterly report, and Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT) President Bridgitte Anderson says businesses remain in the dark about the economic platforms of the major parties. Anderson says a recent parliamentary budget report painted a “dire” picture for B.C.’s finances that requires “billions of dollars that need to be cut or increased in taxes” for stability, and businesses are asking those who could form the next government “to show us a vision.” “I think there’s a lot of voters who are undecided right now, within the business community and public at large,” Anderson says. “And I think this is an opportunity for all of the parties to look at their platforms and to appeal to the voters. “This is a unique opportunity, and elections matter, campaigns matter. And this campaign will matter more than anything.” In late August, the province said B.C. ended the fiscal year with a deficit of around $5 billion due to items such as wildfire expenses and essential spending on “priority services.” That comes as the GVBOT says its members have incurred an additional 6.5 billion dollars in government imposed costs in the last two years, which Anderson tells 1130 NewsRadio is unsustainable for small businesses. “The regulatory system is challenging when it comes to licensing and permitting. So businesses in British Columbia are facing many challenges right now, and the cost of doing business is simply too high,” she said. Anderson says members of the board came up with 10 questions for political parties ahead of the election, hoping they are answered publicly.  She says the questions focus on the economy, business growth, innovation, and investment, “but also other items like ‘what is the energy policy of all of the parties?’ And ‘how will they address some of the very serious issues we’re seeing around public safety and crime?’” Anderson says the NDP government has made some positive adjustments to their regulation thresholds to allow for breaks for small businesses, but many of the over 5,000 members of the GVBOT have answered surveys saying it’s still too expensive to do business in the region. “It is property taxes, it is the cost of labour, it is inflation, it is licensing and permitting. It is so many layers of different costs that businesses are dealing with right now that simply make this jurisdiction just really unaffordable.” The fiscal update in August also said natural resources revenues are down while vehicle insurance revenue from ICBC rose. Earlier this month, Canfor Corp. announced it is shuttering two northern B.C. sawmills , citing a recently imposed U.S. tariff as a key factor on top of ongoing financial losses, a weak lumber market and difficulty accessing economically viable timber in the province. –With files from Srushti Gangdev.