From a development perspective I would say yes. We have seen significant growth the past 6 years with record numbers of building permits. There are issues with future growth such as the lack of Doctors, new schools would be required, more police and fire personnel, increased staff at the City, and a new hospital expansion is require. For those who are not aware the Regional District of Nanaimo is responsible for 40 %of the capital costs for the new hospital expansion. This could equate to close to $800 million. One of the concerns which also needs to be addressed is we need to attract more industry and businesses to the area in order to support the population increases.

I’m not sure if Nanaimo is well positioned to handle a substantial increase. I am certainly hopeful that previous councils have made appropriate plans for future growth.

Recent updates to the Official Community Plan for the Bowers District (45 acres) will provide up to 2500 residential units. The recent updates to the OCP for Sandstone (726 acres) will provide in the beginning another 2000 units and the cities policies regarding infill will add thousands of new units. Presently the city is building around 1400 units per year. The properties on Wallace Street and Campbell Street and the old Howard Johnson property will bring another 1400 units. It’s up to council to make sure that as part of those units being built come with affordable housing

The city has completed the necessary growth and serving projections.

Not unless there is affordable housing. People are getting poorer and poorer. We must work towards growing FOOD because the ferry may not run.the world is I deep trouble my friends

Without sufficient affordable housing options we risk become an enclave rather than a vibrant community with opportunities to grow, live and retire.

So many residents already don’t have a doctor and can’t even go to a walk-in clinic on a weekend. Population growth without access to basic health care services is not sustainable.

The Nanaimo Official Community Plan has accounted for the projected population growth in the next 10 years and can accommodate the housing required to meet this need. Plans are in place to ensure adequate hospital expansion, and it is known what is necessary to do in terms of transportation, water, sewer and other services. Adapting our growing population and infrastructure to a changing climate is another serious consideration. Nanaimo has a climate resiliency plan that goes through the changes needed in our infrastructure to withstand more extreme weather events. It’s important that our community follow the development patterns outlined in the city plan policies to accommodate more newcomers to the city in a way that maintains livability, affordability and climate resiliency.

No. I have served on a Development Application Panel when previously a Councillor in Australia. Development approvals and building inspection process in Nanaimo is vastly backlogged and far too slow. This is impacting housing supply. The RDN recently received $457,000 grant funding to improve its development application processing to make the processing more efficient. Nanaimo needs to take similar steps to dramatically improve efficiency.

City Plan provides us with a solid land use foundation and clear vision for how we want the city to build out in the coming years. We’ve spent significant time building partnerships across sectors that will allow us to respond to growth in a way that supports collaboration and innovation. Institutions like Vancouver Island Regional Library, Vancouver Island University and Nanaimo Port Authority will be key in supporting a growing community. Housing starts are up and development is booming. We’ve added to the Parks and Trails system and increased transit services. At the regional level, we have initiated a comprehensive advocacy strategy to ensure Nanaimo has the health care services it needs. We meet regularly with School District 68 to understand their pressures and opportunities.

While we have good supplies of drinking water, there is insufficient housing stock, over burdened health care services, inadequate policing.

It depends on the policies that the city adopts. If the policies are exclusionary, there will be issues. If the policies are welcoming to new residents, there may be great potential for growth and development. Again, the issue of employment will be critical. People must be able to get employment commensurate to their skills and abilities and if they do, they will be contributing members. Taxes, infrastructure, housing development, health – all of these areas are affected by employment. We have to ensure that the administrative constraints are lifted to enable change.

The task of maintaining and improving infrastructure, services and facilities will challenge the new and future Councils.

We have completed the ReImagine Official Community Plan, which will be our guide for how we grow and create urban centers with density for the increase in our population. It’s about keeping neighbourhoods liveable, walkable, and green space. In 2022 we are projected to exceed all other previous years for development, and the creation of rental buildings rather that just condos. BC Housing is also helping to close the gap and building affordable rentals. ( rent to income )

The new community plan outlines what is needed to manage increased population growth but additional resources from senior levels of government are required for those plans to be effectively implemented. Nanaimo needs additional funding for affordable housing and supportive housing. The Nanaimo Regional General Hospital serves the oldest population per capita in Canada and urgently needs to be expanded and upgraded. The city needs additional financial resources from senior levels of government to ensure that NRGH can meet the needs of our growing and aging population.

Our major problem at this point is the lack of space and patient rooms at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. We are in desperate need of a major expansion to the current hospital tower which is now 60 years old. It was built when our population was less than a quarter of what it is today. Routinely the hospital has more than 400 patients a day for only 344 beds. We also have a major shortage of long-term care beds, walk in clinics, a cardiac cath lab and a full cancer treatment center. We have 35,000 residents without a family doctor. This is not acceptable for a city growing as fast as Nanaimo is! We have the busiest emergency department on the Island. We serve not only this region but for major illnesses, we serve the entire north island.
You can’t grow your community and not take care of the health issues we’re going to see over the next ten years. We must advocate with the Provincial Government for a major hospital expansion. The Provincial Government gives approval to cities all over the province for hospital expansions, Nanaimo must be next, it’s our turn.

From what I can see, there will be a serious shortfall with housing for any substantial increase in population. To the contrary, with our current exodus….it may just balance out and not require an increase to growth and development. When high costs of housing and living expenses are factored in…how are we making it lucrative for more people to move here? That question has to addressed and worked on by council and staff.

Yes, it’s happening everyday. Usually on Facebook people post ‘ I’m new here and need a job and a place to live and a doctor’ or when I worked at Bethlehem centre newcomers would call because some people thought we were a church and could help as they needed to know all these essentials. Then newcomers realized that it’s hard to find a place to live, no doctor and the jobs aren’t paying enough to live. Now there is Nanaimo Newcomers Facebook page because people are coming here fast.

Nanaimo is not ready to substantial projected population, we have already seeing traffic backing up in intersections during peak hours. I have not seen this before 6 years.

I think Nanaimo is generally well positioned to handle a substantial population increase, and our city staff have developed long-term plans to address this. Our Re-imagine Nanaimo project also dealt with looking to the future. Development is at record levels and we still have land available. A main concern of mine is having our infrastructure keep pace with future needs, particularly our transportation and road system.

We strongly need to focus on the infrastructure and community and public programs.

Unless the City can put a stop to the dramatic increase in Crime, and its main catalysts of Homelessness and Substance Abuse, the City’s projected Population Increase will be from the massive numbers of Homeless people who will be coming from all over Canada to take advantage of the warm weather and Enabling Policies of the Local Government.

Other Cities with Progressive Policies are seeing exoduses, as Law Abiding Citizens become sick of dealing with dirty streets and sidewalks, blocked accesses to buildings, being asked for money on a regular basis, having to see people abusing substances, etc.

I find myself seriously questioning whether Nanaimo will see the kind of population increase it desires, which is that of hard working, tax paying, law abiding Citizens, as opposed to people who are only a drain on Tax Payer’s money.

Nanaimo does need to consider improving the Traffic Flow in the City, and I believe it’s past time to encourage the Provincial Government to begin putting aside funds to change the Intersections along the Parkway from Traffic Lights to Overpasses. Additionally, the Parkway needs to begin planning for adding additional lanes. Densification only if the Free Market dictates its implementation.

Our police and fire services are already under resourced and we will need to hire many more which means tax increases. We already struggle to maintain our many parks and we will need an increase in Parks and Recreation staff. I believe when we get new large developments we need to not only look at what the new developments will bring but what resources and operating costs will the City need to provide services citizens expect. The Chase River and Extension area have been waiting years for a Community Center and we need to look at getting these recreational opportunities to the communities who have none.

I feel services and especially recreational opportunities are sorely lacking, i would like to see more considered

While we do need a new community centre in South Nanaimo I think the existing facilities are covering our needs. Next to the Police budget Parks and Rec and the largest section in the city budget. I have never received any complaints about the work Parks and Rec does. Other than a few complaints about services during covid. Can’t please everyone.

No. More recreational and cultural facilities are required to serve both the existing population and the projected growth. Of immediate concern is a recreational facility in Nanaimo’s south end.

Before more population growth we must house the homeless

I think the pandemic has shown us that parks and protected areas are critical to community health and wellbeing. We need more parks and protected spaces to accomodate current and increased population while also providing connectivity for the natural systems to sustain.

Our city is on track in some areas to handle population growth and is behind in others. We have a very robust recreation and culture planning department that has done a good job at upgrading and expanding facilities in our growing city. We are falling behind in health services and housing. I believe that some of our Arts facilities such as the Nanaimo Art Gallery are due for an upgrade.

Our city has adequate recreational services compared to other cities, but more needs to be done.

The City needs more infrastructure for sports and activities. We only have four sheets of ice which is much too low for a City of this size.

We’re holding steady after the chaos of COVID, however with population growth and increased demand for service, the city will need to augment its workforce appropriately.

see previous answers on this topic

The city at present in my view does not have an appropriate level of services or accommodation for a diverse population. I will work to change that if elected.

More people and more businesses inevitably means that there will be more demand for more services and facilities.

One of Nanaimo’s strengths is our natural surroundings, a working harbour, beautiful waterfront, a Sports District, an Arts District – with Museums, Art galleries, Port Theatre and a vibrant community that gives endless volunteer hours to contribute to our vibrancy.

The city needs to do more to ensure that we maintain the liveability and quality of life in Nanaimo. As the population grows we need to protect and enhance the green space in and around the city. This includes creating additional parks and protected areas in the regional district including the Nanaimo River. When you compare a map of the parks and protected areas on the Cowichan river compared to the Nanaimo river the results are stunning. There are less than 11 square Kms of protected area and less than 2 sg km of parks in the 750 square km Nanaimo River watershed.

We need a community center in the south end of the city. Recreation facilities are in high demand and the demand for use is only growing. There are staffing shortages, backlogs, and wait times for services such as building and development permits. There is a need to create more efficient and effective services.

We can always be better. Every opportunity we have to support youth means a healthier future for our city. Community culture creates a lifestyle of joy, enrichment and a positive mental attitude. Let’s do as much as we can to provide a positive future, not just for the next ten years, lets think of the next 50 to 100 years.

I see that this isa double edge sword, where on one hand we are providing some excellent services and opportunities, and yet on the other hand, as clearly demonstrated be previous questions….there’s work to be done.

I think we are growing so fast that it’s going to cause issues with water. I’d like to plan for this.

Yes it is fair now but need to get planning to improve

In most areas, Nanaimo currently has adequate level of services for our population. However, our continued rapid growth will quickly put stresses on all services and recreational facilities. We must plan for the future and budget for such things as additional ice rinks and community centres, as well as pushing the province to upgrade our regional hospital.

One area Nanaimo is doing well in as I see it, is providing a plentiful amount of Recreational Opportunities for the population with plenty of room for an increased population.

I am a Fiscal Conservative, so, while it sounds nice to expand the Waterfront, I would want the projected costs of the project to be front and center in the “My Tax Money Nanaimo” Smartphone App / Website. Let Nanaimo Citizens see how much a pleasant expansion of the Waterfront would actually cost in terms of probable Property Tax increases, and I am positive the enthusiasm for it would abate rapidly.

I have heard many requests that the City fund an expansion to the Downtown Art Gallery, or additional funds for the Port Theater. I value Arts and Culture, but considering that the Tax Burden on Nanaimo Residents has been increasing significantly on a yearly basis, I do not believe additional funds for Arts and Culture are realistic. That said, I would be willing to have an Expert Debate on the issue, and hear the best argument from both sides before making a decision.

Housing is a Provincial and Federal responsibility. The City has seen record amounts of new builds, especially in the condo and apartment category. We are working at streamlining the process to speed up development. Many of the recommendations in the consultants report are being implemented. Fast tracking , online applications, and the creation of accredited experts such as plumbers, engineers, and electricians. Again an issue facing communities is the lack of building Inspectors. Again there is a country wide shortage and we are in competition to attract them to our City.

I know the city is working hard in this area, more attention is needed for parking and more designated handicap areas in the planning stages

I agree with that statement. However it’s not a combat. It’s providing the resources and services in a timely manner to developers so that they can build the units we need. The developers in the city are building more residential units than they have done in decades including rental units. The city just needs to make sure we don’t get in the way and that in exchange for helping our developers and rezoning lands that the city also gets it’s fair share of the profits from that housing and development.

Yes. The City has options with in its control to increase the supply of housing and provide more affordable and secure housing options. Regulatory changes can be made to permit more infill development, reduce permit approval times and burdensome regulations, and incentivize the creation of affordable units.

Government housing projects without big profit is the only way communal space and rooftop gardens

One of my daughters has moved away with her family to a community where the wages support affordable living. Another daughter is weighing her options after receiving notice from her landlord. Affordable housing is critical for vibrant communities.

We are falling way short on housing, and it is a serious risk to our well-being and economic health. There needs to be more housing along the full housing spectrum, from fully subsidized government supportive housing to market housing. Things the city and the next council should do to increase all housing stock, especially affordable housing:
-Expand the secondary suite bylaw to allow more suites in a wider range of circumstances
-Pre-zone appropriate land parcels for affordable housing.
-Align zoning bylaws with city plan density targets.
-Decrease building permit times by increasing professional reliance.
-Encourage the development of family-oriented units.
-Expand partnerships with non-profit housing providers.
-Investigate a municipal housing corporation and public housing model.

Building permits are at record highs and the market is responding to the need for more housing, including rental stock, at a tremendous rate. The city is working through permit time challenges with industry stakeholders to ensure that we continue to attract strong development.

see previous answer Nanaimo needs to require affordable housing in commercial and industrial development projects and expedite approval processing.

The housing “crisis” is not a made-in-Nanaimo problem. What the City can do is to ensure that home-building proposals receive decisions as soon as possible. This is already a work in progress and it is clear that delay in the approvals process is not acceptable – senior governments are looking to actions that will quicken the pace of housing approvals.

Absolutely and we must do more, especially affordable housing, along with accessibility and inclusiveness. More incentives for developers to include a small portion of units that are rent to income in apartment/townhouse units.

The current vacancy rate in Nanaimo is 1%. A healthy vacancy rate is 5%. There are over 600 homeless people in Nanaimo and thousands more who are precariously housed and on the verge of homelessness. The cost of housing both for purchase or rent has skyrocketed and Nanaimo has become unaffordable. The city must do more to address this crisis. The City can and should be purchasing land for affordable housing projects and working with non-profit housing organizations to build more affordable and supportive housing units. The city should be zoning for affordable housing. The city should be encouraging the development of coop housing in the community. The city needs to press senior levels of government to provide more resources for affordable housing in the community.

The city needs to make the building and development permitting process more efficient and fast so more market-rate and affordable housing can be built to meet current demand.

The city needs to encourage increased density through the creation of secondary suites, and laneway houses and replacing some of the single-family homes with townhouses and small apartment buildings.

The current council has done a lot of work to increase the number of apartments and condominiums and we have to keep going. We’re going to continue to need a diversity of housing options from single family homes to duplexes to townhouses, to multifamily developments. Giving people options allows for a happier, healthier community.

From rentals to home ownership, yes, available housing is a major challenge.Somehow, attention must be focussed on this issue to start turning the tide. To expand our inventory is necessary to accommodate our population at an affordable rate. We need to explore with other levels of government to see what funding and subsidies might be available; what incentives that can be proposed; what grants that might be delivered…we need to expend some of our resources in City Hall to do the digging and get our Council to do the pushing. Collectively we may find unique ways to help address this.

All levels of government need to be involved in the housing crisis. I moved here and couldn’t find a house to buy because it was too expensive. I am special in that I think differently and so me and my husband built our own. We appreciate this home because it was a tough experience to get to an occupied state. I became more empowered because of this experience and believe this is important in teaching people the value of a house.

Yes city need to work on its administrative delays.

Lack of affordable or attainable housing is a major issue. The city needs to continue to give incentives to builders to provide housing stock. It is largely a case of supply and demand. Beyond that, the city can work with Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society and look at ways to improve its Affordable Housing Strategy.

While I agree with this statement, I would like the voters to know that I disagree to the elimination of green space in recent years.

The answer most Candidates for Council, including the Incumbents, will give to this question is that Nanaimo needs to increase Densification. The City needs to Zone for High Density structures. This will increase the number of Residents paying taxes in a smaller area, decrease the need for the construction of more access services (Roads, Sewers, Electrical Lines) to the area, and generally be better for the Environment.

I believe that the Free Market will dictate what type of Housing that needs to be built. Everyone wants to live in the very best accommodation they can afford. People want to live in Single Family homes with space and privacy. City Council can incentivize Developers to build Higher Density, more affordable housing, but ultimately what will happen to Nanaimo, is what happens to every growing City.

Wealthier people will purchase the higher cost Single family homes, and less affluent people will necessarily need to live higher density accommodations. Developers will build what will yield for them the most profit in the area they have to build. The true SOLUTION is to improve the Quality of Education, and Self Confidence of Citizens to afford higher value property.

The Development Community is for the most part responsible for building housing of various types. The City has given land to BC Housing to build affordable units and supportive housing units, We are working on our zoning and streamlining our processes to better address development issues. We have worked with Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society , Canadian Mental Health Association and Community Living on bringing housing to the City. The Federal Government and Provincial Governments need to invest more in affordable housing for the citizens. The City does not have the monetary resources to build housing nor is it one if our core mandates. We can work with the other agencies identified to facilitate more affordable housing.

more can be done and I look forward to seeing where the city can improve more affordable homes

While the province is building housing in our city through a number of agencies and the city is working with those agencies including donating land I don’t think it’s enough. However the bottle neck is not the city nor the agencies. It’s the province. I’ll also say that the city can do more to streamline the development process through rezoning, building permits and such.

No. There are policy options that are not being fully implemented.

Really than why are so many homeless

The City and the community have roles to play. I have attended two meetings about affordable housing where the neighbours rejected the notion of it being built in their neighbourhood. Affordable housing is critical for vibrant communities.

The city has taken the positive step of developing an affordable housing strategy. Although a few policies have been pursued, much of the strategy has not been acted on and should be. Policies the next council should pursue to improve housing affordability include:
-Expand the secondary suite bylaw to allow more suites in a wider range of circumstances
-Pre-zone appropriate land parcels for affordable housing.
-Align zoning bylaws with city plan density targets.
-Decrease building permit times by increasing professional reliance.
-Encourage the development of family-oriented units.
-Expand partnerships with non-profit housing providers.
-Investigate a municipal housing corporation and public housing model.

This Council has advanced a number of initiatives in support of increasing the affordable housing stock, including the development of a short term rental policy and rewriting our Community Amenity Contribution policy to direct developer dollars into affordable housing programming. Next up we’ll be looking at family friendly (3+ bedrooms) and I’ll be advocating for a tenant relocation policy. The city could do more by assembling parcels and pre-zoning land for investment from the province or other developers; this conversation should be a priority for the next council.

The fact the cost of housing is so high and many are homeless shows Nanaimo needs to do better. Such as the suggestions made above.

650 units have been created working with BC Housing but we need much more than this.
The province recently announced more units for students at VIU for their projected growth as well.

The city has not done nearly enough to create the affordable housing that is needed in the community to meet current needs.

The current vacancy rate in Nanaimo is 1%. A healthy vacancy rate is 5%. There are over 600 homeless people in Nanaimo and thousands more who are precariously housed and on the verge of homelessness. The cost of housing both for purchase or rent has skyrocketed and Nanaimo has become unaffordable. The city must do more to address this crisis. The City can and should be purchasing land for affordable housing projects and working with non-profit housing organizations to build more affordable and supportive housing units. The city should be zoning for affordable housing. The city should be encouraging the development of coop housing in the community. The city needs to press senior levels of government to provide more resources for affordable housing in the community.

The city needs to make the building and development permitting process more efficient and fast so more affordable housing can be built to meet current demand.

The city has done a lot to provide more housing which generally means the cost “should” go down but any development in the middle of Covid with the rising cost of building has been difficult. I believe that council must consider other options to reduce the cost for more affordable homes. We need to provide some options as we work with developers. Keeping some units at a lower price range to help those who qualify. There are ways around this and we can do more when we work with our development community.

The city should be commended for what they have done, but they should not rest on the laurels. This is an expanding issue in our community. One that again, requires more of our resources allocated from city hall to focus on to improve the outcome even more.

In my experience I’ve learned that time is important but not understood. The city of Nanaimo has projects that deal with building and safety; however building an apartment takes time and so does training new officers. From my experience, I was in the hospital from a serious car accident and the surgeon rushed over and performed surgery immediately. I was saved because of this time of immediatenes. If we treated the housing crisis like an emergency, would it be a crisis anymore?

With already increasing traffic congestion, overfilled high schools, lack of doctors and hospital space, along with our lack of affordable housing, Nanaimo is not well-positioned to handle our projective growth. Our recreational opportunities and other aspects can maybe just suffice, but would be fully utilized. The Mayor’s Task Force has been looking into issues such as the hospital space and doctor shortage, but we will never get anywhere on these issues without other levels of government support and by being proactive about our city’s future growth.

I havent seen much

Yes I feel the city has taken positive steps and continues to do so, as per my answer above. There will never by enough, stock is increasing. A rent bank has also bee established.

The government has done little to impact the rental increases in recent years.

I have not looked into this issue, but a Society needs all levels of workers, who are compensated depending on the level of skill and education their employment requires, and what they can demand for their services in a competitive job environment.

As such, a City will always have multiple levels of housing to suit the earnings of the City’s workers. I believe the Free Market will build Affordable Housing naturally as a result of demand. The City can incentivize Developers to build more Affordable Housing by waiving Property Taxes for a period of time for example, or perhaps an outside of the box idea like Tenants engaging in Property Beautification as part of their Tenancy.

Ultimately, businesses need workers. Workers need housing. Businesses will have to pay Workers a sufficient amount for them to have housing and meet their needs. Property owners can only charge what Workers can afford, or they will not have Tenants. The different Social forces push on each other in the Free Market, and eventually reach some form of equilibrium.

The City Council can pretend to have dramatic control over Housing, but Developers will only build if it is profitable.