Over the first five months of 2024, the City of Surrey has already approved 5,200 net new homes.
This goes above the expected average, and elevated permit numbers are anticipated to continue for the remainder of 2024, according to a recent City staff report.
In particular, there were substantial approval spikes in the early spring months — about 1,800 in March and approximately 2,800 in April — following slower monthly approvals in the range of under 250 for each in January and February.
According to City staff, the spike in March and April can be attributed to Metro Vancouver Regional District’s new Water Development Cost Charges for applications already under review, starting on April 28, 2024.
Since early 2024, the municipal government has already rolled out various new policies and measures related to changing zoning and simplifying processes and regulations, which align with both the provincial government’s housing-related legislation and the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF).
The City of Surrey received $95.6 million from the HAF to fast-track the construction of 2,800 homes over the next three years and a total of 16,500 new homes over the coming decade.
City staff note that the $95.6 million in federal funding is being split into two expenditure streams.
The first stream of $47.4 million will go toward executing the “Action Plan” of eight initiatives related to policymaking and improving the municipal review process, which will provide Surrey with more housing over the short and long term. This includes development cost charge bylaw exemptions for affordable housing projects, incentives for affordable housing projects near rapid transit, expanding the use of digital platforms and artificial intelligence, and expanding City staff workforce numbers for application processing.
The second stream of $48.2 million will go into the “Spending Plan” to support shovel-ready infrastructure projects that support new housing developments and direct funding toward these projects.
About $19 million toward infrastructure will “unlock” about 2,200 new homes within the Clayton and Grandview neighbourhoods within the timeframe of the HAF.
Also, $27 million will go into the acquisition of two or three properties for future affordable housing development opportunities, with the acquisitions expected to occur between late 2026 and 2027.
Another $2.2 million from the “Spending Plan” will provide upfront funding for the City of Surrey’s Surrey City Development Corporation (SCDC) toward the City-led, high-density mixed-use development project next to SkyTrain Gateway Station. The proposal is still in the early stages, but six buildings up to over 50 storeys in height could provide about 1,600 units of housing, with the majority of the units expected to be condominiums. This would be one of SCDC’s largest projects to date, with the funding going toward site preparation and the first phase’s master planning and detailed design.
Preliminary artistic rendering of the City of Surrey’s “Gateway project” at 10744 133 Street and 10725-10757 University Drive. (Surrey City Development Corporation)