The City of North Vancouver has nearly met its target to build new homes in its first year of the provincially mandated program.
At a meeting July 14, council heard that 547 net new units had been completed in the municipality over the past year. That means the city fell just shy (94 per cent) of meeting its annual housing target of 581 homes since the reporting period began in July 2024.
In 2023, the province added the City of North Van to its list of municipalities required to meet housing completion targets, based on their housing needs reports. Historically, the city has been considered to have a good track record on approving new development and, at the time, Mayor Linda Buchanan said she was “surprised” to be on the list.
Staff said the current stats put the city among the top-performing municipalities with housing orders. District of North Vancouver slightly outpaced the city, completing 100 per cent of its target, while West Van fell far behind at around 25 per cent of its quota for new homes.
In the city, 599 new units were completed over 12 months, while 52 units were demolished, according to a staff report.
Another 400 units soon-to-be completed, staff say
According to the city’s housing targets, a total of 3,320 homes must be completed by the end of June, 2029. That sum is broken up by year, with 609 net new units to be finished over the next 12 months, 650 the year after and so on.
In addition to the homes built over the past year, staff added that another 400 units are expected to be finished in the coming months, including 170 homes at 422 East Third St. and 167 homes at 18 Fell Ave.
Coun. Don Bell said he doesn’t like the fact that the city has housing targets.
“But we need to show [the province] that we are compliant,” he said.
Buchanan added that the newly built units are in line with the way the city usually delivers housing.
“I’m not convinced at this time that these new units have much to do with the legislation that’s been put in place,” she said.
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