The province has announced the housing targets for the first 10 cities, one of which is Delta, that were selected a few months back as part of the Housing Supply Act.
Delta has been ordered by the province to create 3,607 housing units within the next five years. Guidelines for these housing units include a recommended number by size (one, two, three-bedroom), of rental versus owned units, below-market rental units and units with on-site supports.
These are ambitious targets. But some in our community don’t want any part of it.
Letters to the editor have been negative and there’s push back against the province.
There also is an ongoing theme amongst residents in North Delta that this council is somehow punishing those residents, while South Delta residents get a free pass.
That is not the case. Council recently granted third reading to a project on Ladner Trunk Road on Sept. 26, and have several other South Delta housing applications on the books and/or getting ready to come to council for review.
The province has ordered Delta to hit these housing targets. And if it doesn’t, then the province will step in.
We are in a housing crisis. Housing needs to be built in all our communities.
The bigger question we should all be asking and pushing the province on for more clarity is infrastructure. As Delta hits these housing targets, where is the money for the infrastructure to support all these new homes?
Where are the transit improvements for both North and South Delta? Where are the rec facilities, pools, ice rinks and the like?
It’s all fine and dandy for the province to have these aggressive targets for housing, but you need the infrastructure in place first, to support it.
