The Vancouver Island city of Langford is slamming the province after it was added to the NDP government’s so-called “naughty list” of municipalities that need to build more housing.
Since 2023, the province has handed housing targets to 30 municipalities that it says have the highest need and projected growth.
On Thursday, the Housing Ministry said it was teeing up another batch of municipalities to receive targets, including Burnaby, Coquitlam, Courtenay, the township of Langley, Langford, Penticton, Pitt Meadows, Richmond, Squamish and Vernon. The province says the targets will reflect 75 per cent of each municipality’s estimated housing need.
“Many in the fourth group are already leaders in building more homes,” the ministry said in a media release.
“By joining the housing targets program, they will demonstrate that all communities, big and small, have a vital role to play in addressing the housing crisis.”
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But being handed targets isn’t going over well in the fast-growing Victoria suburb of Langford.
“This decision fails to recognize the City’s long-standing leadership in housing development and growth management since incorporation and unfairly penalizes a municipality that has consistently exceeded expectations,” a statement from the city reads.
The municipality notes it is one of B.C.’s fastest-growing municipalities, adding it has delivered “a disproportionately high share” of new housing in the capital region.
It said it is already planning for a population of 100,000, nearly double its current population of 58,000, and has projected it will need 17,000 new homes in the next two decades.
“Langford’s track record speaks for itself. Langford is the model municipality,” the city said.
“While Langford continues to do its part, the Province must continue to do theirs by supporting the services and infrastructure needed for rapid growth.”
Langford’s concerns are being echoed by another municipality added to the latest target list: the Township of Langley.
Mayor Eric Woodward said his community is also growing extremely quickly, adding 4,000 to 5,000 new residents per year.
“My initial reaction is I do not know what more the Township of Langley can realistically be expected to do in terms of creating even more housing that it already has been,” he told Global News.
“We already are doing our part, we’ve already got one of the highest growth rates in the province, especially for a municipality with more than 150,000 people.”
Woodward said the province is quick to make demands about speeding up housing growth, but has not kept pace with funding for the infrastructure to go with it, including for roads, schools and hospitals.
Langford, too, is pressing the province for infrastructure cash.
In its statement, it says it’s asked the province for a $1.7-million grant for a new medical clinic, but has received no response.
The province says more than 16,000 homes have been constructed since it implemented its first municipal housing targets.
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