TOWNSHIP OF ESQUIMALT STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE: November 25, 2024 Report No. DEV-24-057
TO: Council
FROM: James Davison, Manager of Development Services
SUBJECT: Interim Housing Needs Report - Receipt by Council
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council receive the Interim Housing Needs Report as drafted in Appendix A; direct staff to post it to the Township’s website before January 1, 2025; and amend the existing Housing Needs Assessment with the Interim Housing Needs Assessment as an appendix.
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
As a result of the 2023 amendments to the Local Government Act under Bill 44, changes were made to the timing and requirements for Housing Needs Reports (HNR). Municipalities and regional districts must now prepare Interim Housing Needs Reports by January 1, 2025, using the Provincially prescribed “HNR Method” to identify the 5- and 20-year projected housing need in their communities. For Esquimalt, the projected 5-year housing need is 1,359 residential units and the projected 20-year housing need is 4,213 residential units. Municipalities must then update their official community plans and zoning bylaws by December 31, 2025, to accommodate the projected number of units.
The Township’s Interim Housing Needs Report is attached as Appendix A.
BACKGROUND:
All local governments are required to complete an Interim Housing Needs Report by January 1, 2025. The Interim Housing Needs Report must only include three new, additional items:
1. The number of housing units required to meet current and anticipated need for the next 5 and 20 years, as calculated using the HNR Method provided by the province.
2. A statement about the need for housing in close proximity to transportation infrastructure that supports walking, bicycling, public transit or other alternative forms of transportation; and,
3. A description of the actions taken by the local government, since receiving the most recent Housing Needs Report, to reduce housing needs.
Local governments may fulfill this requirement by updating their most recent Housing Needs Report to include these three items, or by completing an entirely new Housing Needs Report. Staff has prepared the interim report to be appended to the existing 2020 Capital Regional District Housing Needs Assessment for the Township of Esquimalt (attached as Appendix B). The first regular Housing Needs Reports are required to be completed by December 31, 2028, and every five years thereafter.
It is important to note that the projections in the interim Housing Needs Report are different from the “Housing Target Order” that was issued by the Province to Esquimalt on June 26, 2024. The 5-year target of 754 residential units is a regulatory target with potential punitive consequences for non-compliance, while the Housing Needs Report projections are an estimate of the number of residential units required to meet housing needs in the next 5 - and 20 - years. The 5-year target number is different from the 5-year projection number due to differences in methodologies used to calculate the two numbers.
ANALYSIS:
The summary of the 5 - and 20 - year calculations from the Housing Needs Report (HNR) Method provided by the province is as follows:
The Township is on track for accommodating these additional units, as Staff has calculated that, between January 1, 2020, and September 13, 2024, the Township processed 3,825 residential units. This is less than 400 units shy of the housing need of 4,213 residential units identified in the interim Housing Needs Report for Esquimalt over the next 20 years. See Appendix A for a more detailed analysis.
The Total New Units figures must be accounted for and accommodated in the Official Community Plan (OCP) and Zoning Bylaw updates required to be completed by December 31, 2025.
OPTIONS:
As a statutory requirement, the Township must prepare an interim Housing Needs Report before January 1, 2025.
Option 1: That Council receive the Interim Housing Needs Report as drafted in Appendix A; direct staff to post it to the Township’s website before January 1, 2025; and amend the existing Housing Needs Assessment with the Interim Housing Needs Assessment as an appendix.
Option 2: That Council direct staff to amend the interim Housing Needs Report and bring another report to Council on December 16, 2024, with any changes to the interim Housing Needs Report which Council may require.
Council would then receive the interim Housing Needs Report and direct Staff to post it to the Township’s website before January 1, 2025, and amend the existing Housing Needs Assessment with the Interim Housing Needs Assessment as an appendix.
COUNCIL PRIORITY:
Housing
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact resulting from the report.
COMMUNICATIONS/ENGAGEMENT:
There was no public communication or engagement in the production of the Interim Housing Needs Report. Staff regularly discussed the requirements and progress with representatives from other CRD Municipalities.
TIMELINES & NEXT STEPS:
The next step will be for the Township to include the results of the Interim Housing Needs Assessment into Zoning Bylaw updates and Official Community Plan updates required by the Province by the end of 2025.
A full Housing Needs Assessment will need to be prepared by the end of 2028.
REPORT REVIEWED BY:
1. Bill Brown, Director of Development Services
2. Ian Irvine, Director of Finance, Reviewed
3. Sarah Holloway, Deputy Corporate Officer, Reviewed
4. Dan Horan, Chief Administrative Officer, Concurrence
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
APPENDIX A: Interim Housing Needs Report
APPENDIX B: Capital Regional District Housing Needs Assessment for the Township of Esquimalt