Port Coquitlam had a “banner year” in 2024 with new housing approved, the city’s director of planning and development said last week.
But despite the record approvals last year, the actual starts are slow due to market uncertainty and municipality will likely miss its provincial government target this year to get more homes up, Bruce Irvine told committee of council on March 11.
Irvine said PoCo council OK’d 779 units in 2024 to adhere to Victoria’s new legislation to address B.C.’s housing crisis. By comparison, council green-lighted 330 new net units in 2023 and 545 homes in 2022.
Still, despite the push to build more homes, Irvine said housing starts around B.C. are down 9.2 per cent, permit values have dropped 8.3 per cent and the number of new homes permitted has sunken 10.8 per cent — largely due to the uncertainty in the market with the housing changes.
This month, B.C.’s Finance Minister Brenda Bailey attributed the provincial-wide slowdown to the “elevated interest rates, skilled labour shortages and increasing construction costs” while Chris Gardner, president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association, called on the provincial government to work with municipalities to pay for infrastructure to handle the extra growth.
Irvine described the past 15 months as a “roller coaster” for planning and development staff at city hall with plenty of inquiries about home building in PoCo, as well as some massive projects proposed, that have put pressure on civic resources.
Specifically, he said, PoCo staff spent last year developing an online permit application system, introducing a new small-scale multi-unit housing zoning bylaw (under Bill 44) and a new transit-oriented area zoning bylaw, and bringing on more staff to handle the volume.
Planner Jennifer Little highlighted a few major applications that will come before council this spring and beyond, including proposals for:
- PoCo Place Mall (2,000 residential units in six towers)
- 1563 Shaughnessy St. (townhouses by ƛ̓éxətəm Regional Park/Colony Farm)
- 2245 McAllister Ave. (formerly called The Met; adding 22 units to the previous design)
- New View Society (a partnership with BC Housing to build 74 homes for people with mental illness, at 2365 and 2371 Kelly Ave.)
As well, Little said Bill 44 has prompted 23 bids for new duplexes/townhouses plus another six coach house applications, since last July.
Little said more work needs to be done on the form and character of the multi-family home designs especially triplexes.
PoCo planning staff will reach out to the development community more this summer for guidance, she said.
Irvine said he expects 2025 to be his department’s busiest year ever to meet the legislated requirements. Besides the housing applications, it plans the first phase of the Official Community Plan update, the introduction of Amenity Cost Contributions, the additions to Development Cost Charges plus a business case for TransLink.
“We are exceptionally busy,” Irvine told the committee in his overview, warning not all assignments will be met.
Last July, the provincial government ordered PoCo to build 2,279 more homes over the next five years. And, in February, the city received $10.3 million from the federal government to speed up the housing work and get more shovels in the ground.
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