THAT Council submit the following resolution to the Union of BC Municipalities for consideration:
WHEREAS B.C. has yet to develop an effective strategy to address the biggest constraint on new housing supply––our shrinking construction labour force––and offsite wood frame and mass timber construction has potential to deliver improvements of up to 50% labour productivity, 50% construction time and 20% cost savings, net zero and low embodied carbon construction and secure jobs in forest dependent and Indigenous communities;
WHEREAS the greatest barrier to expanding offsite construction is insufficient market demand from public and private project developers unfamiliar with this novel approach and there are hundreds of strategically located, public land parcels with underutilized land that can be used to cost effectively build affordable housing and grow a predictable pipeline of projects to mobilize investment in manufacturing plant expansion;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT UBCM calls on the Government of B.C. to collaborate with diverse sectors to establish a B.C.-based Offsite Wood Construction Industrial Policy Framework and steadily grow demand and capacity by working with interested public sector organizations to use offsite construction to build, permanently affordable, zero carbon housing on underutilized public land close to jobs and services; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT UBCM works with the BC Government to develop an Affordable Housing Offsite Wood Construction Early Adopter Program with voluntary municipal actions that aggregate demand like pre-approved designs, zoning and permits for different housing types; and voluntary actions for other sectors like developers, builders, school boards, health authorities and forestry companies.