The province has appointed a new advisor to make sure West Vancouver builds more homes.
Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, said he appointed advisors on Wednesday in the District of West Vancouver and in Oak Bay so the province and those municipalities could work together to make progress on meeting mandated housing targets.
“These independent advisors will evaluate the actions taken and make recommendations to support our shared goal of building homes for people faster,” Kahlon said in a written statement. “This is beneficial to any municipality who may need support in meeting their housing targets.”
After being on the province’s so-called naughty list for a year, West Van had fallen well short of its target to build new housing as of October 2024. Under the provincially set targets, West Van was expected to produce 220 new homes, but only 58 were built – a little more than 25 per cent of the target – most of them single-family homes.
The number of net new units to be built will continue to grow, from 462 in 2025 to 1,432 in 2028.
But West Van Mayor Mark Sager said previously that he disagreed with Kahlon’s point of view – that his municipality instead had opted for careful planning. Sager gave the example of the recently approved Cypress Village plan, which will develop 3,700 units over the next 25 years.
But according to the housing ministry, the new advisor will ensure “every action that can be taken to build more homes for people is being taken by the municipality.”
New advisor is career planner and CapU prof
Appointed to advise West Van is Ron Mattiussi, a professional planner with 38 years of experience as director and CAO for Kelowna, and instructor at Capilano University. He’ll be aided by Kevin Ramsay, former CAO for the District of Squamish and Port Moody.
As advisor, Mattiussi can validate work completed and underway by the municipality, see where improvement is needed and make recommendations to support progress, said a spokesperson from the housing ministry.
“Once the advisor has reviewed municipal records, they are required to prepare a report for the minister which explains how the review was undertaken, what matters were reviewed, and recommendations for next steps,” the spokesperson said.
Mattiussi contacted the municipality Jan. 30 to begin the work, which is expected to take about two months to complete, the spokesperson said.
“The minister will consider the advisor’s report and determine if further compliance action is required such as issuing a directive to enact a bylaw or permit, or if the municipality should continue to be monitored and update the minister on a quarterly basis before the next annual progress report is due,” the spokesperson said.
There are specific areas the West Vancouver advisor will review. Those include the zoning bylaw for small-scale multi-unit housing to determine if it deters development; decisions on housing projects by council; potential for a transit-oriented area within the Taylor Way local area plan; and procedures for reviewing development applications.
Kahlon said the housing ministry will continue to work to add more homes in communities throughout B.C.
“And make sure more people and families can find a place to live, in the community they want to,” he said. “I look forward to reviewing the advisor’s recommendations so we can build homes for people faster, together.”
[email protected]
twitter.com/nick_laba
@nicklaba.bsky.social‬
