The City of Delta invites the community to provide thoughts and suggestions about its ongoing Housing Action Plan.
Until Wednesday, September 8, Delta residents can review a draft of the Plan online and submit comments via an electronic feedback form.
This public consultation is a critical component of Phase 3 of the City’s Housing Action Plan, which was launched in 2019 as part of efforts to address Delta’s current and future housing needs.
In Phase 1 of the project, the City conducted a Housing Needs Assessment with residents and stakeholders to better understand Delta’s current housing situation and priority needs. The Assessment was completed in early 2020, and it identified the following key areas that need to be addressed:
- The right supply: to create more rental, senior supportive, and accessible housing
- The right price: to foster greater affordability in housing and living costs
- The right balance: to ensure density and infill housing meet the community’s needs
- Housing supports: to provide continued support for vulnerable populations in housing need
In response to the needs identified in Phase 1, the development of draft strategies became the primary focus of Phase 2.
Through the input of Council, stakeholders and the broader community, those strategies were further refined and incorporated into a draft Housing Action Plan. The Plan includes eight strategies that would be implemented over the next five years to address the needs of Delta’s communities:
- Promote priority housing types through a comprehensive incentives package: Formalize incentives for market rental, non-market rental, supportive housing and accessible units.
- Explore ways to increase land availability for priority housing: Identify City- and community-owned lands that could accommodate housing.
- Introduce tenant relocation and rental stock protection policies: Provide existing tenants protection and ensure healthy rental stock of different affordability levels.
- Pilot pre-zoning in select areas near town centres: Trial pre-zoning to expedite approval processes in key areas designated for higher density.
- Create opportunities for gentle density: Add sensitive infill development opportunities into historically single-detached neighbourhoods.
- Increase the number of accessible units in Delta: Incentivize and regulate the number of accessible units in new construction to meet the evolving needs of our community.
- Strengthen partnerships and advocacy: Work with partners across the housing sector to increase Delta’s support of those needing extra help.
- Pilot inclusionary zoning: Test out new tools to help add much-needed affordable rental and supportive housing.
Once the consultation period of Phase 3 comes to a close on September 8, the input received from the public will be used to inform the final Housing Action Plan, which is expected to be presented to Council in Fall 2021.
To learn more about the Housing Action Plan, view the draft Plan and submit feedback, visit the website. Please note the survey is open until Wednesday, September 8.
