Misconceptions about Victoria's Missing Middle Housing Initiative (MMHI)

Victoria, like many other cities across North America, has struggled with housing over the last 20 years, but particularly so in the last 10 years. Each passing year has seen house prices escalate even further beyond the grasp of lower middle and middle income earning families. Each passing year has seen market rents get loftier. Each passing year has seen the wealth gap between those who own and those who rent grow.

In this context, with many flailing in an endless sea of escalating living expenses, reaching for anything that seems like it has any chance of providing some assistance. The capacity for rational thought about where we are, how we got here, and how we could possibly extricate ourselves from this mess long ago diminished. We're at the point where for many, the mantra of "any housing, at any cost" is acceptable to many, particularly those who are precariously housed - making enough to be beyond the safety net of social housing, but not enough to secure adequate housing on the market. Many are facing difficult choices, and many more are on the brink of leaving our community to find somewhere else to call home. These community members are our construction workers, our cooks in our restaurants, our teachers, our mechanics, our government workers, disproportionately those who are starting out in their careers- and their ranks are swelling at an unsustainable rates.

There are others, who will not waste any crisis, who see opportunity, even in the current crisis. They are more than happy to offer solutions that on the surface, appear helpful, but ultimately will do little to ameliorate the suffering and may make the situation worse for many others. They are more than happy to undermine our community to line their own pockets. They appear to care, even passionately so, all the while advocating for things that do not result in real progress where it is needed most, all the while advocating for a solution that will likely make things far worse long before there is any hope that things will get better. 

It is in this context that the Missing Middle Housing Initiative (MMHI) has emerged.  A 2,000 plus page behemoth of policy that at once is too loose and too restrictive at the same time.  The basic premise: allow every lot currently zoned to be single family to permit the supply of 6 units of housing. The required bells and whistles: EV charging, bike parking, no parking minimums, energy efficiency (step code level 3  or 4). Curiously absent: affordability requirements, residential use requirements, displacement requirements, accessibility requirements, unit composition requirements. 

What people may not know - Victoria spent considerable effort developing their Official Community Plans in 2012. The public was engaged extensively on these plans - and they represent how those who live and work here see their city evolving in the years to come. What people might not also know - is it that the city failed to bring its zoning in line with the Official Community Plans. What people might not know - our capacity to build is limited, we are also facing a labour shortage. What people may not know - that our single family zoning is far more inclusive than it appears and permits duplexes and secondary suites already. What people may not know: Victoria unveiled a garden suite policy in 2014, and yet the uptake on it has been nothing less than dismal. What people may not know: Victoria also has a small lot subdivision policy (and again, this is likely undersubscribed). What people may not know: the amount of time it takes the city to issue a building permit without any rezoning or variance approval needed is exceedingly long in many cases. What people may not know: the costs of construction in this city makes it cost prohibitive for many to build new housing. What people may not know: developers do not construct on a cost plus basis, rather they roll the dice and sell new product at whatever the market will bear (and while there's risk of loss, the reality is that the profit margins have been more than healthy in recent years). What people may not know, is that yet again Victoria's policy on housing will be "out of step" with the policy in the rest of the CRD.

Let me be very clear: the MMHI is not an "affordable housing initiative". It absolutely may bring a number of "net new" units on the market, and it might also bring a relative price reduction (compared to what would prevail in its absence) of those units, however, a 10% reduction in price on a million dollar unit is little consolation to those who would struggle with a mortgage even half that size. Worse yet, the lots on which these new "missing middle homes" would materialize are likely some of Victoria's most affordable housing stock that currently exists. Those who pay $2000 rent on a 1940's bungalow are likely to be evicted to make way for 6 families with pockets deep enough to cover a million dollar home each, or perhaps they'll all 6 units will be bought by an investor as part of their portfolio, with each unit commanding more than $3,500 a month in rent or perhaps they'll be used as snazzy vacation rentals for some monied snowbirds, or maybe they'll just be pied a terres used half time. Who knows and it seems this council doesn't even care.

So, the question becomes: what kind of city do we want going forward and how do we get there? I know the city I want has housing, a full spectrum of housing - but I also know that the MMHI as it stands is not how we get there and that there's a whole lot more that can be done that is likely to be far more effective in making progress on attainable, affordable housing for middle income residents who wish to live and work in Victoria.