The political brinkmanship going on between the province and the District of West Vancouver over new provincial housing rules is a great example of what’s probably not a great way to make significant land use decisions.
Both parties have some blame to accept here – West Van council for deciding that making a political protest was more important than dealing with the issue in an orderly fashion, and the province for pretending these changes are key to solving the housing crisis (they won’t) and taking special delight in poking a council it sees as refusing its ideological directive.
Housing is an emotional issue at the best of times, and these certainly are not the best of times. The need for more housing is acute on the North Shore, as it is almost everywhere else in the province.
But the reality is the high value of land in West Vancouver makes most solutions difficult, particularly in today’s environment. When the math doesn’t add up, no amount of legislation is going to work.
But it’s also true that West Vancouver has been extremely slow to embrace change, particularly in existing neighbourhoods. The protracted contortions around changes to the Ambleside local area plan – including the addition of, and then walking back of, density on apartment sites – are a recent example of that.
Unfortunately for West Van council, the province is the one with the hammer in this dispute, as the provincial government has the power to override local councils.
This week, West Van looks set to receive an uncomfortable reminder of that fact.
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