Local government partnerships

The Province of British Columbia is committed to working with municipalities to expedite the municipal approvals process for social and supportive housing units by funding  pre-development costs for designated sites to ensure they will be ready for construction within a year.

Overview
On October 12, 2007, the Province of B.C. announced a range of new and expanded measures to break the cycle of homelessness . As part of this announcement, the Province committed to funding pre-development costs for new supportive housing units on city-owned sites to ensure they will be ready for the start of construction within a year. The pre-development costs include costs for third-party work, such as architectural, geotechnical and environmental plans and studies. This announcement built on the provincial housing strategy, Housing Matters BC , which was announced in October 2006. 

To date, the Province is working with local municipalities to create approximately 1,700 supportive housing units in a number of municipalities across B.C.