Penticton wants to have the B.C. government partner with the city to build more housing.
Mayor Julius Bloomfield is asking council to endorse a resolution that would see the province match or exceed any donation of municipal land for affordable housing projects.
City staff will present the policy to council at its next meeting on Feb. 7.
If endorsed, the resolution will move on for consideration at the 2023 Southern Interior Local Government Association (SILGA), to be held in Vernon from April 25 to 28.
A financial commitment from the province for affordable housing in Penticton would allow for greater certainty in municipal planning and project development, according to city staff.
“This resolution further looks to the province to seek ways that provide certainty to planning processes and fast track attainable and affordable housing projects on municipal land,” the report to council reads.
Getting that commitment from the B.C. government, however, won’t come this spring.
Resolutions passed at the SILGA convention are submitted to the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) for consideration for its annual convention, city staff’s report states.
Only once resolutions have passed through UBCM are they directed to the province.
Penticton council meets for its second regular meeting of the year this Tuesday at 1 p.m.
READ MORE: Those who spent, won in Penticton’s 2022 election
