The City of Maple Ridge missed the new housing target set by the province in its second year, and even the first year’s numbers were overstated.
City council sent the second-year housing target progress report to the province, for the period of July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. The province set targets in June 2024, and the city has now completed the second year of the five-year order.
The city will report that it has a net of 554 new residential units – 587 new units completed, and 33 units demolished.
That’s below the year-two target of 672 units set by the province. A city report said market conditions contributed to the shortfall.
Builders in the city got off to a fast start last year – the first year target was 612 units, and the city built 718.
So the combined two-year target was 1,284 units, and the city hit 1,272, for a modest shortfall of 12 units.
“Though in a deficit by 12 units, this positions the city well to meet the cumulative five-year housing target of 3,954 units by June 30, 2029,” reported staff.
The target for year three is 800 new units, and by the end of five years the city must hit 3,954 move-in ready units.
Coun. Sunny Schiller defended city hall’s staff, outlining how the city has tried to hit the province’s marks.
“There is widespread agreement in our society that the system we have created to deliver housing is not working,” she said, adding efforts to change that system include the province’s targets and changes to housing policy.
Schiller said the city can document numerous initiatives it has taken to attempt to streamline building approvals and processes at city hall, to hit the targets. Examples include a new concierge program designed to help fill critical gaps in housing, the planning department has been restructured, and apartment builders are asked to include larger units to accommodate families.
“Staff have worked long and hard to propose policies and procedures to deliver better results,” she said.
Staff reported the actual unit total from year one has dropped from 751 to 718 units since the submission of the Year 1 report, after adjustments were made.
The province recognizes a unit as new once it receives occupancy authorization, and only counts net new units. If the parameters for the order had been based solely on the total of new units created, Maple Ridge would have exceeded its cumulative target, said staff. Occupancy permits for 1,338 total new units were delivered to the city over the first two years – surpassing the cumulative targets by 54 units.
The report to the province noted there were 46 applications withdrawn for rezoning, development permits, or building permits, which proposed 542 units. Another 14 building permit applications were not approved in year two.
The staff report noted that while city hall has the ability to approve projects and expedite processes, the timing for construction and completion of housing units is primarily dependent on factors beyond the city’s control. Making meaningful progress towards project completion requires coordinated efforts by all levels of government, private developers, and various sectors of the economy.