The City of Castlegar has crossed a milestone — it has now issued development approvals or building permits for 250 new housing units since a 2022 housing needs report identified the need for 464 new units by 2026.
The housing projects currently underway put the city at 54 per cent of those 2026 targets.
The 250 units reflect projects that have been approved, not completed.
Castlegar planning manager Meeri Durand says some of the approved projects may not be completed until 2026 as the city can not control pace or construction schedules and there are a multitude of factors that play into the unique circumstances of each project.
As a result of the success in the housing sector, Durand told city council on March 18 that wait times for building permits have increased to six-to-eight weeks.
“Our building department is feeling the busyness of spring has sprung,” said Durand.
She reported that some of the current backlog is due to the completion of the registration process for a subdivision on Toba Road. That is now allowing for a number of building permit applications for that project that have been sitting in the approval queue to be issued.
Durand also addressed confusion in the community regarding the new provincial housing legislation that will come into effect soon.
“In short, you can make application for multi-family dwellings at this time,” said Durand. “However, the city can not issue your approvals until such a time as the our new zoning bylaw is adopted.”
She encouraged residents and developers to watch her presentation to council at the Jan. 15 Committee of Whole meeting where she explains the timelines and implications of new laws. That presentation can be found at Castlegar.ca under the past council meetings tab.
The city has until the end of June to update those bylaws.
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