Whistler council has adopted a new policy that will fast-track development applications for employee and supportive housing, formalizing a process staff have been using already.
Council voted unanimously on April 8 to approve the new policy, which lays out how staff will prioritize building and development applications that contribute to local housing goals. The move fulfils a key commitment in the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s (RMOW) action plan under the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), which awarded Whistler $2.55 million earlier this year.
“Applications advancing employee housing are currently prioritized for review on a case-by-case basis, with no formal prioritization policy in place,” planner Joanna Rees told council. “This is one of those initiatives that’s required to be completed by April 30.”
The new policy applies to applications submitted under the RMOW’s Building and Plumbing Regulation Bylaw and Land Use Procedures and Fees Bylaw. While it does not guarantee faster processing or permit approval, it ensures applications that meet defined criteria are reviewed more quickly.
Who gets priority?
Applications will be prioritized based on their contribution to community housing needs, with preference given to emergency, supportive and transitional housing, followed by Whistler Development Corp. projects, private sector applications with employee housing agreements, and finally small-scale multi-unit housing (SSMUH).
Supportive housing takes priority because it’s identified in the 2024 Vulnerable Housing Needs Assessment as urgent for Whistler. While the report to council found there was strong need for this style of housing, it stopped short of providing solutions. Whistler has no year-round emergency housing and no transitional housing.
“All applications will be reviewed in the order they are received, except those meeting the prioritization criteria,” Rees explained. “Prioritization of application review is not a guarantee of permit issuance, and prioritized applications will be subject to the standard submittal requirements and review procedures.”
If an application qualifies, staff will notify the applicant and coordinate across departments to ensure all related applications are prioritized for review.
Council discussion
During discussion, Councillor Cathy Jewett raised a question about how supportive housing could be delivered, given that the Community Land Bank (CLB)—part of Whistler's Olympic legacy—currently doesn’t allow for it.
“This is something that interests us in a pretty significant way,” said general manager Dale Mikkelsen, adding staff will ask the province if it is amenable to amending the CLB to accommodate supportive housing and other similar uses.
"Right now, certainly if an application were to come in today from a supportive housing agency … they would have to have identified a piece of land—not CLB,” Mikkelsen said.
Before the vote, Coun. Jen Ford expressed appreciation for the policy’s clarity.
“I appreciate the thought that’s going into this—that there will be priorities for housing that is most in need, and I hope that the broader building community can appreciate the need for these projects as well,” she said.
Coun. Arthur De Jong added, “I like to see a policy that kind of codifies what has benefited WDC and WHA and the provision of the homes we’ve been able to build in the last few years… It’s helped us move things fast, and we’ll continue to lean on that to move things faster.”
The motion passed with no opposition.
