Pitt Meadows says a proposed B.C. bill could reduce public safety

Pitt Meadows council is raising the alarm on a new bill that the province is floating — something they say could strip municipalities of some of their authority and cause public safety and environmental concerns.

Bill M 216, or the professional reliance act, would dictate that local governments must accept any submission certified by an external expert. This means municipalities would lose their ability to review incoming development proposals — something the city says is needed to ensure they are built with local knowledge.

“This [bill], in particular, causes great concern, because it actually takes away … the endeavor of our own planning department to make sure that anything that comes into the city is built safely and environmentally sensitive,” Coun. Bob Meachen said at a Dec. 2 council meeting.

On Nov. 26, Mayor Nicole MacDonald sent a letter to Christine Boyle, B.C.’s Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, stating that outside certifying professionals might not have the needed knowledge on local conditions, city bylaws, floodplain requirements and development permit guidelines.

 “We support improvements to the development approval process, but efficiencies cannot come at the expense of due diligence, public health and informed local decision-making,” she wrote.

City staff often find errors in the plans and reports by certifying professionals, she added.

“The province has very much overstepped in terms of what is traditionally municipal zone and planning. And I would say to them, take care of stuff that is your purview. Get back to the health care, get back to the education, get back to the ambulance. And let us do things that we do well, and that is our local land planning,” said MacDonald at the Dec. 2 council meeting.

Meachen likened it to B.C.’s Small-scale, mulit-unit housing legislation that has required municipalities to allow housing densification — and been the ire of many cities, Pitt Meadows included.

“My first visceral reaction was, ‘here we go again,’” he said.

In analysis published by the Union of BC Municipalities, they said it is “continuing a trend towards sweeping, centralized legislation that impacts local governments, developed without meaningful local government input.”

The bill was submitted by NDP MLA George Anderson, who put it forward so that young people and families can get access to homes faster, according to reporting from the CBC. He said that cities looking over professionals work delays housing projects from getting off the ground.

“Delivering more homes that people can afford is a fundamental priority for our government. Debate on new ideas for how to make that happen is positive for British Columbians,” said Minister Christine Boyle, B.C.’s Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, in a statement sent to The Ridge.

She added that she encourages municipalities and housing stakeholders to participate in the upcoming consultation on the bill.