City of Pitt Meadows is one of 56 local municipalities to receive funding from the province to fast-track development approvals in order to accelerate the building of homes.
The province gave the city $120,000 to support projects that streamline local government development approval processes.
$9 million was handed out province-wide from the Local Government Develop Approvals Program, administered through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM).
The City applied to this grant program in March for approximately $110,000, and they were advised in June that the application was successful for $120,000.
“We appreciate this provincial support for Pitt Meadows as we continue our work to improve and streamline development procedures and approvals,” said Nicole MacDonald, Mayor of the City of Pitt Meadows.
“This funding will help advance practical process improvements, so we can support housing delivery more efficiently while ensuring thoughtful planning for our community.”
In a February report, key initiatives were identified by city staff that would streamline development procedures and approvals. These included:
• developing additional inter-departmental procedures and materials for development application reviews like: referral procedures, internal review checklists, and standardized templates;
• commissioning an independent review of development review and approval processes, including opportunities to streamline more straight-forward applications and implement innovative practices from other municipalities;
• reviewing opportunities to delegate some additional application types to staff;
• updating and developing guidance and checklists for applicants;
• and reviewing bylaws and processes for opportunities to better support the use of standardized designs and modern methods of construction like: offsite construction, prefabricated construction and modular construction.
Most of the funding, the report stated, would go towards consulting costs and a temporary increase in staff resources.
Funding ranged from $22,000 for Whistler, to $200,000 for places like Revelstoke, Richmond, Smithers, and Summerland.
The Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs advised that the program aims to help local governments develop innovative ways to improve development-approval processes to help non-profit housing organizations, developers, and other stakeholders deliver homes quicker and increase housing supply.
According to the ministry, more than 70 applications were received for the 2026 intake of the Local Government Development Approvals Program, which closed March 13, 2026.
“Our focus from the start has been on helping people across B.C. find housing that fits their needs and budgets. That can look very different in different communities,” said Minister Christine Boyle.
“With the Local Government Development Approvals Program, local governments can improve their internal processes and development approvals, so that we can speed up the delivery of homes for people living and working in B.C.,” Boyle added.
The $9 million in funding is the third intake of the program, and additional approvals will be coming soon, said the ministry.