By Cheryl Jahn

Development permits off the mark

Aug 21, 2023 | 3:49 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Some startling numbers from the City when it comes to building permit numbers. Year-to-Date numbers show a grim picture in 2023, with the value of permits plummeting from $174 million last year to $81 million so far this year.

There are a number of factors behind that, including interest rates, making investors and developers skittish.

“People’s choices on investing are governed by what they’re expecting in the economy,” says Councillor Garth Frizzell, who typically pulls the permit numbers from the Council agenda. “And if you look at any of the news right now, people’s expectations are we better wait and see, because we’re not sure if interest rates are going to continue going up or maybe if we’re past this or from all indications, we’re not past this until 2024.”

But the announcement last year about the Housing Supply Act is a challenge.

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“When that Housing Supply Act comes out, they may say, ‘You must do this, you must do that.’ But that’s going to mean that the city will have to give up our speed of response time. That’s going to mean possible pressure on some of our policy. But, you know, we’re going into a year with the OCP review coming through as well. So there’s a lot of change, but there’s a lot of response happening at the same time.”

But Frizzell says the demand is there and will continue to be.

“We know that there’s a large demand and we’ve been working flat out. We’ve had these extraordinary decades well, extraordinary ten years of development here. We’ve seen for the last ten years those numbers continue going up and up and up. So now that we’ve got a bit of a lull and people and developers are a bit more skittish about investing immediately, that doesn’t take away from the fact that people still need housing, still need places to live.”

He reminds people that the Official Community Plan will soon be under review and without public input is badly needed.