The District of Squamish is getting an almost $260,000 funding boost from the provincial government to help create housing quickly.
The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District will receive a little over $174,000.
The funding to 188 B.C. local governments is to help them meet new provincial legislative requirements.
"There is an urgent need for more homes for people, and we are working with local governments to build this housing faster," said Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon in a news release sent out Jan. 17.
"With new housing actions to build homes in our communities, it is important that we support local governments to improve the processes to get the housing built that people in our community desperately need. By providing them with upfront funding, instead of distributing it over time, local governments will be able to support the building of more housing as quickly as possible."
The provincial government recently passed a host of new legislation to create more housing, such as transit-oriented development and small-scale, multi-unit housing, to address the widespread housing crisis.
Starting Jan. 18, the province will provide a total of $51 million in grant-based funding from Budget 2023 spread out to all municipalities, regional districts and the Islands Trust in B.C.
According to the province, the grant amounts are based on flat funding and per-capita amounts. There's a base $150,000 for municipalities and $80,000 for regional districts, plus a per-capita amount based on the population projection from B.C. Stats.
"Local governments can use this funding to update housing needs reports, zoning bylaws, development cost charge and amenity cost charge bylaws, and community plans by hiring consultants and staff, and to do research and community engagement, as part of the transition to improve the development approvals process," the release states.
There will be an additional $10 million made available for a second intake for the Local Government Development Approvals Program (LGDAP), an application-based grant fund managed by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.
Applications for this funding opened to municipalities on Jan. 1. Successful municipalities will be announced in spring 2024.
