The Regional District of Nanaimo is working on a guiding document intended to address housing and other growth issues in the area.
A bylaw for the RDN’s draft growth strategy ‘Shaping Our Future 2040’ was before directors at the May 9 board meeting, outlining a shared vision for how and where the RDN will grow over a period of time, said Jamai Schile, RDN senior planner, speaking with directors.
A 2022 review of the existing growth strategy found the region has been falling short in supplying the affordable housing needed to sustain growth. Schile said staff have expanded the housing section of the new growth strategy to not only address affordable housing, but diversity of housing as well.
“There’s three new policies included in that section that really encourage strong partnerships, advocating to senior government to support meeting our housing needs, as well as the continuation of the requirements for our housing reporting, both our current monitoring programs and our future reporting,” said Schile.
The strategy would direct the RDN to ask provincial and federal governments for money to support housing strategies and actions plans included in the housing needs assessment report, and to implement housing action plans or strategies and growth-strategy goals related to housing needs.
In terms of housing reporting, the RDN would continue to monitor housing trends regionally via mandatory five-year updates on the housing needs assessment report and yearly through the growth strategy’s monitoring program.
Another new policy would be to ask for a review of zoning and subdivision bylaws every 10 years to ensure they align with the growth strategy and official community plans. Further, the RDN should “explore and adopt new zoning mechanisms, where appropriate, to address housing affordability issues,” the strategy suggests.
The regional growth strategy also has provisions to mitigate climate change, improve relations with First Nations, update agriculture and food provisioning, and support public transit.
Alec McPherson, alternate Area A director, said he was concerned the strategy didn’t properly account for rural area issues. An “incredible” amount of greenhouse gas is generated by people in his area headed to shopping centres or big box stores in Nanaimo, he said.
“I don’t see anything in the [RGS] that addresses how to get services closer to those areas and still maintain the idea that they should be in the city,” McPherson said at the meeting. “We’d like to participate in some of the tax revenue that the city gets from some of the shopping centres and things like that.”
The board voted to forward the draft to partners, stakeholders and area governments for comment, with feedback accepted until June 30. The growth strategy bylaw is anticipated to be presented to the board in September.
For more information, or to comment on the draft, visit www.getinvolved.rdn.ca/rgsreview.
RELATED: RDN affordable housing goals not being met, says RGS review
karl.yu@nanaimobulletin.com
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