As many residents are likely aware, provincial legislation now requires the City of Abbotsford, along with other communities like Vancouver, City of Langley and Mission, to allow increased residential density. That doesn’t just mean more people living closer together, it also means more people using City infrastructure, such as water, sewer, roads and much more.
As one of the provincially “specified” municipalities under the Government of BC’s 2023 Housing Supply Act, Abbotsford is required to review and update its zoning bylaws by the end of this year to permit increased density in line with government-mandated housing targets. However, having more density puts undue financial pressure on Abbotsford and the other affected local governments due to the infrastructure upscaling needed to meet the rise in demand.
To help ease this strain, the City is seeking support from other municipalities in the form of a Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) resolution. The resolution will ask for the UBCM and the Province to work together to address these density challenges by establishing and providing long-term, stable and predictable infrastructure funding for the affected municipalities.
The resolution will first be submitted at the annual Lower Mainland Local Government Association conference in April. If approved, it will then go before the UBCM for adoption at their annual conference in September. Last year Abbotsford was successful in getting the UBCM to endorse a resolution calling on the Province to increase access to detox and treatment options for British Columbians. As this is another issue with a broad impact, we are hopeful that other local governments will be supportive.
Abbotsford City Council