New Westminster City Council approved two significant programs last week addressing challenges facing tenants in the City’s most affordable housing, continuing their commitment to supporting the most vulnerable residents in the City.
Measures to identify and protect residents most likely to face severe heat risk during a repeat of the 2021 Heat Dome event, and new principles to assure the City’s Tenant Protection Policy provide replacement units that meet tenant’s needs were both approved by Council last Monday. This after a public delegation period where members of the New Westminster Tenants Union and Acorn BC spoke to Council about the impacts of development-driven displacement on lower income renters, and the effects of outdated building codes on renters in a time of climate disruption.
The Tenant Assistance Policy update builds on New Westminster’s existing anti-demoviction policies, where new developments that require the demolition of existing multi-family rental are restricted unless the developer can guarantee that existing tenants are not displaced. These new policies will assure that replacement homes secured through this policy will be of equal size as the homes they displace, while providing some flexibility in layout to meet modern building standards. There are also measures to assure pet ownership is not a barrier to replacement housing, and to assure tenants are given agency and guidance if they choose a payout over the new housing offered.
“Tenant protection is no longer a side issue, it is the cornerstone of what it means to build a fair and livable city.” said Lana from the New Westminster Tenants Union.
The City is also building on the work done after the Heat Dome disaster of 2021, when 28 New Westminster residents lost their lives, in part due to older housing stock that failed to provide adequate ventilation or cooling to vulnerable people. After implementation on “one cool room” measures, updating bylaws to block landlords from prohibiting air conditioners, and advocacy to the Provincial Government to bring in maximum temperature standards for all rental, New Westminster has completed vulnerable building assessments to identify the buildings and residents most critical risk, and will “fill the gaps” in existing retrofit and incentive programs to make those buildings safer.
Monica from New West Acorn spoke at the public delegation calling on the City to do more to protect vulnerable tenants, stating “Tenants are tired of being asked to pay for the climate crisis we didn’t cause with their money and sometimes with their health or their very life.”
“The Heat Dome was a traumatic experience for our community, and this Council has committed to pushing the limits of what we can do jurisdictionally to assure the next Heat Dome does not repeat the tragedy of 2021” said Mayor Patrick Johnstone. “While some on Council have sought repeatedly to defund our Climate Action programs, thisd emonstrates that climate work is not just about reducing greenhouse gasses and electrification, it is increasingly about saving lives.”
Mayor Patrick Johnstone and Community First council colleagues have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to protecting these most vulnerable residents, even as the City meets its Provincial housing targets and updates its Official Community Plan to meet provincial regulatory changes. This work has made New Westminster the Lower Mainland’s leader on progressive housing policy.