Cities push back against B.C. government's housing targets

I’m calling BS on this priority list New Westminster, one of 20 more cities where the provincial government will be mandating housing targets. Purposeful rental, purpose built rental. That’s the kind of housing we’re getting approved. The mayor taking exception to being put on a list he says the city doesn’t need to be on. New Westminster has consistently been one of the fastest growing cities in the region and is now the second densest city in all of Canada. We are doing our job as a city at getting housing built. It’s a similar story around the province. Mayors pushing back on these newly announced targets, The City of North Vancouver, also on the list and like New West exceeding their regional growth targets, made it really clear to the minister in in conversations, you know growth can’t be scaled up because we’re given a target. In Coquitlam, where growth has accelerated around the Evergreen Line, the concern goes beyond targets. Richard Stewart concerned the new provincial government rules around housing types and density. Is having the opposite effect on housing markets, we’re actually going to end up with less housing built this year than last year. The housing minister says these targets aren’t meant to be punishment or an admission. Cities aren’t doing the needed work, instead saying there are specific items municipalities can do to create more housing faster. Well, each community has a slightly different things that are needed the City of North Vancouver and needs more affordable rentals. The City of New Westminster has been planning on 2011 numbers. The law has changed since 2011. A report on the progress of the original housing target list of 10 cities will be made available later this spring. The individual targets for the latest round of cities names. Expected to be released in June. Aaron MacArthur, Global News.