Nanaimo has surpassed its first-year provincially set targets for new housing units, but fell well short of the guidelines for providing below-market housing over the last 12 months.
The city provided occupancy permits for 875 new housing units between June of last year and this month, according to a staff report presented to council Monday night. The first-year target set by the province was 783.
Nanaimo also exceeded guidelines set by the province for unit sizes, delivering 214 three-bedroom units and 315 two-bedroom units. The targets were 161 and 155 respectively.
It fell short in the delivery of one bedroom and studio units, delivering 346, while the guideline was for 625.
City staff noted that may have been dictated by the market, but the city does have zoning mechanisms to incentivize construction of smaller units if required.
The city also surpassed the number of rental units required by the province, delivering 825, well over the target of 554.
Staff noted the surge in rental construction has driven up the city’s rental vacancy rate to close to three per cent, a level that tends to keep rents more affordable.
The city also exceeded the number of supportive units in the guidelines by delivering 109, when the target was 22.
But it was well short when it came to below-market units, with none completed in the last 12 months. The recommended guideline was 386.
City staff said they usually see 50 to 100 building permits for below-market housing each year, but that didn’t happen over the last year.
Staff noted, however, that there are 683 housing units in various stages of development, of which 411 are deemed below-market or supportive units.
“We do have a lot underway,” said Lisa Brinkman, manager of community planning. “I do think in future years we will maybe not meet the target, but be closer.”
Brinkman said the city is “using all the tools that we have” to provide incentives for below-market housing units.
That has included reducing development cost charge by 50% for not-for-profit rental housing, and zoning provisions that allow increased density if a project includes below-market units. The city also has a housing reserve fund and tax exemptions to provide incentives for below-market housing.
Councillors Paul Manly and Ben Geselbracht said the city can’t ensure below-market housing is built without the help of grants and lending programs from the provincial and federal governments.
“There’s been a lot of pressure, I think, on local government to be accountable to meeting our market-housing targets, and most cases we’ve been meeting it,” said Geselbracht, adding that there seems to be no similar accountability at the senior government level.
Nanaimo’s five-year housing target is to reach 4,703 net new units by July 1, 2029.
The targets, which were introduced in 2023 for some cities and in 2024 for Nanaimo, were meant to incentivize communities to speed up their housing approval processes.
The province determines the progress of the municipalities based on the assessment of net new units, policy actions, initiatives, innovative approaches and partnerships designed to increase housing supply.
Municipalities that meet targets are expected to get provincial funding for amenities such as parks, bike lanes and recreation centres.
If communities don’t meet the targets, the province can appoint an independent adviser to help them make progress. If that doesn’t work, the province could overrule the municipality with the power to rezone entire neighbourhoods to create more density.
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