B.C. Province to Investigate Federal, Provincial, and School Board Properties for Social Housing Potential; Details by Fall 2023

Another news and commentary update – it appears that things at the provincial level are getting spicier by the day.

Genuine commendation is in order for Les Leyne , who appears to be the first to report on a small piece of remarkable news from Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon. It's right at the bottom of one of his latest articles published in the Times Colonist, which also has a provocative title to boot: "NIMBY override is part of province's housing plan" . Here's the quote I wanted to share with everyone today:

"[...] Kahlon also said the days of selling public lands to private developers are gone. “We have to use public lands now to be able to build truly affordable housing.”

He said all federal, provincial and school board properties are being assessed for social-housing potential and more details will come in the fall."

Let's take a moment to let that sink in, and rephrase everything we've just read here exactly.

This week, and as covered by a reporter from the Times Colonist, the B.C. Housing Minister is quoted as saying the following:

1. the Province will be assessing the social housing development potential of "all" federal, provincial, and school board properties;
2. the Province should use public lands to be able to build “truly affordable housing”; and
3. that more details will be forthcoming in Fall 2023.

Now, as research is something I enjoy doing outside of work, there are a few breadcrumbs that I've been following for a while now. That said, I'd like to provide the following three pieces of policy evidence solely as a matter of imagination and speculation as to what could potentially happen next!

(1) The B.C. Government's Opening Doors Report

Recommendation 15 of the previously published Provincial “Opening Doors” report back in June 2021 (PDF Page 32) states the following: “To expand the supply of community and affordable housing, we recommend that [...] all orders of government undertake land assembly and provide long-term leases to private and non-profit developers of affordable housing [...]”

(2) The B.C. Government's "Homes for People" Report

The Province’s very recent report from this year, “Homes For People” (which I've previously discussed ), states that they will be launching a new "BC Builds" program to deliver more middle-incoming housing by using public lands, associated low-cost financing, and other innovative tools. Here's the excerpt from PDF Page 20:

(3) CCPA's Upzoning Metro Vancouver’s Low-density Neighbourhoods for Housing Affordability Report

And finally, while not related to the Province, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives also makes similar recommendations in their 2022 report titled Upzoning Metro Vancouver’s Low-density Neighbourhoods for Housing Affordability” (see PDF pages 5 and 20-21) . In this wonderful little read (it's always a joy to read non-government perspectives on housing policy), the author recommends that:

(a) government should “make existing public land available for non-profit developers to build genuinely affordable housing” (Page 5); and

(b) “[...] the high cost of land is a major barrier to developing affordable housing. The use of city or government-owned land for affordable housing has widespread support across the political spectrum, and these efforts should be accelerated. Land could be granted to a non-profit developer on a long-term lease, or even to a for-profit developer who agrees to build to affordable housing specifications. [...]” (Page 20).

What a hell of a breadcrumb trail, eh?