The City of Burnaby’s protest against new provincial housing legislation may have temporarily satisfied some homeowners, but those in the commercial real estate industry say it adds up to a failing grade.
In June, Burnaby council refused to establish “transit-oriented areas,” three rings radiating 200, 400 and 800 metres from SkyTrain stations, where the province has told municipalities to allow building heights of eight to 20 storeys.
Now commercial real estate company Goodman Commercial Inc. has given Burnaby an F for its refusal to participate in the provincial plan.
“Progress: None,” states the report card.
The report notes Burnaby had no problem with approving two of the province’s other major housing changes, allowing multiplexes on formerly single-family lots and adding new development financing charges.
Goodman highlighted its concerns with the new development financing, saying the city imposed “a massive increase to development fees.”
“Every new apartment built in Burnaby is on the hook for $39,000 (in charges),” which the report says is “up catastrophically” from the $2,500 developers previously paid for a standard 700 square-foot apartment.
“The policy changes have left developers scrambling to figure out how, or if, they can move existing projects forward, let alone create any of the new housing supply intended by the provincial legislation.”
None of Burnaby’s neighbours got as poor a grade, though Goodman gave New Westminster a C+ and Coquitlam a C-. Vancouver fared the best with a B grade.
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