In March 2023, prior to the release of the BC Provincial Housing Targets for select municipalities, the Urban Development Institute (UDI), not only lobbied the Province on Enforceable Housing Targets, but also on an Advisor for municipalities “should they be appointed”.

In March 2023, prior to the release of the BC Provincial Housing Targets for select municipalities, the Urban Development Institute (UDI), not only lobbied the Province on Enforceable Housing Targets, but also on an Advisor for municipalities “should they be appointed”.

A letter from the Urban Development Institute (UDI) to the Ministry of Housing dated March 30, 2023 made recommendations in regard to an advisor should they be appointed in regard to the “Forthcoming Housing Supply Act Regulations” as it was put in the letter.

Another letter between the UDI and the Province shows the two entities were discussing an “Advisor” as early as August 2022.

By Sasha Izard Feb 14, 2025

As has been revealed in various recent CRD Watch articles, that the Urban Development Institute (UDI) a registered lobbying group for development and real estate interests for many years lobbied the Province of BC to adopt housing targets, including Housing Needs Reports/Assessments.

Housing Needs Reports/Assessments were created across the Province with Provincial money being funneled through UBCM and sent to help municipalities fund them. Most of the contracts for these reports went to UDI member company Urban Systems, including for every municipality in the CRD that is a part of its Regional Growth Strategy.

For the UDI, mere targets weren’t enough. On March 10, 2022 the UDI Executive Committee lobbied David Eby, when he was the Minister Responsible for Housing, for enforceable housing targets through a carrot and stick approach that involved not only incentives for achieving them, but also a list of penalties for municipalities that did not build fast enough for the UDI’s agenda of rapid construction along various rapid transport corridors, some of the transport corridors only in a state of proposal at the time.

Proposed punishments for municipalities that did not comply, included “reduction of funding for infrastructure and community amenities,” “reduction of transit services levels, “curtailing the regulatory powers of municipalities” that do not meet housing targets, that the “Province could assume land-use decisions to pre-zone transit-oriented areas for housing” and finally “using debt as an incentive” for municipalities to achieve their housing targets.

The information about this came from a number of Freedom of Information requests to various Ministries, municipalities, the CRD, and also to the CMHC.

The latest batch of information from the Ministry of Housing reveals additional information.

Background: In late 2022 as the Attorney General and Minister of Housing at the time David Eby was taking the reins of his party (after his only challenger was disqualified by the party elite), and becoming Premier – the Province during this ‘interregnum’, introduced the Housing Supply Act, which came into effect subsequently in 2023.

Included in the Housing Supply Act were powers that the Province introduce mandatory housing targets for municipalities, (as the UDI had lobbied to them heavily for previously), and also that an Advisor could be appointed by the Province to review municipalities that aren’t meeting their targets. The housing targets for the first 10 municipalities were released in September of 2023.

A telling letter: On March 30 2023 (see below), prior to the release of the BC Provincial Housing Targets for select municipalities, the Urban Development Institute (UDI), not only advised/lobbied the Province in additional detail, ideas regarding enforceable housing targets; they also offered advice regarding the appointment of an Advisor to such municipalities “should they be appointed.”

The first 2 pages of the letter which are on this subject are below:

The final paragraph on the 1st page of the letter is also of interest:

The UDI appears to have suggested to the Province reducing the definition of “affordability” from a solid definition e.g. like the one the CMHC has, to a vague equating of anything below market value to be affordable.

————————————————————————————————–

The following is a lobbying registration dated to April 4, 2023 6 days after the March 30 2023 letter. It gives a good idea of the kind of content the UDI was lobbying the Province on during this time, and in particular the Housing Ministry:

3004-25771 – Lobbying Activity Report – Lobbyists Registry – Office of the Registrar or Lobbying of BC

The following excerpts from the following registration are also interesting:

Urban Development Institute / Anne McMullin, President & CEO – Registration – Organization – Lobbyists Registry – Office of the Registrar or Lobbying of BC

A letter from the UDI to the Province showed that the two entities were discussing an “Advisor” as early as August of 2022 (see the letter’s conclusion on page 3):