West Âé¶čAV city councillors are raising red flags after a significant drop in construction value was revealed in the cityâs latest quarterly development report.
During the July 22 council meeting, Coun. Stephen Johnston noted that the construction value for the second quarter of 2025 had dropped to just $18 million, a steep decline from over $123.5 million reported in the same period last year.
âThat is a significant reduction,â Johnston said. âAnd weâre feeling that too. Across the industry, weâre seeing a real slowdown in the construction of single-family homes, duplexes and even multifamily.â
While the five-year average for second-quarter construction value sits just above $63 million, this yearâs total fell well below that benchmark.
The number of building permits issued also declined. The city processed 149 permits in Q2 of this year, compared to 183 in 2024. The five-year Q2 average is 205.
At the same time, planning application numbers were up slightly. West Âé¶čAV received 25 applications in Q2 2025 compared to 22 during the same period last year.
Johnston pointed to what he sees as a growing issue across B.C.
âCertainly at the provincial level, theyâre layering on excess regulation, red tape, bureaucracy and expense,â he said. âThat directly counteracts the ability to create affordable housing.â
He encouraged the city to keep the issue front and centre.
âLetâs make it top of mind, to see where we can help streamline the process to help the industry bounce back a little bit, and then hopefully respectfully ask the province to consider doing the same.â
Coun. Carol Zanon also voiced concern about the financial implications of a sustained slowdown.
âI donât want to cry wolf when I just see one number way off there,â she said. âBut this is very concerning, particularly if this continues, because we need that construction value to go up to get the DCCs (development cost charges), because we need the money.â
Zanon added that the city may need to revisit its long-term planning.
âMaybe when weâre doing our strategic priorities, weâre going to have to think a little bit more about service delivery and how we can handle this.â
