A group of British Columbia mayors have banded together with a new task force aimed at streamlining the rollout of factory-built modular homes.
The mayors and Modular BC announced the new working group Friday, at a press conference at Kelowna’s SRI homes.
Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley is heading up the initiative, which also includes the mayors of Penticton, Prince George, Nanaimo and Williams Lake.
“Modulars can be a part of the solution,” Hurley said.
“Too many people always say they have the answer to the home issues. But this can certainly be a big part of getting us to where we need to be.”
The mayors say they will work with Modular BC to develop provincial standards for the rollout of modular housing options while advocating for the housing type provincewide.
“As the demand for homes continues to grow, the cost associated with building and developing new housing has skyrocketed. But with Modular BC, we now have a solution that is both innovative and practical,” SRI general manager Darren Basset said.
“Modular homes provide a faster, more efficient way to build homes helping to deliver affordable housing quickly and at scale. This approach allows us to address the housing needs of all communities without compromising quality or sustainability.”
Hurley said one of the task force’s key goals is building a pathway for municipalities to get on board with new modular homes, and to get them built quickly.
Basset said the factory-built housing industry is able to turn out traditional homes, along with multilevel, duplex and triplex housing.
Homes can be built in the factory in as few as four weeks, with projects some completed in as little as two months, when work at the site is included.
Paul Binotto, provincial advocacy committee lead with Modular BC said the group is also working to develop a standardized building program that will speed up permitting.
“We’ve also been working with building officials to develop standardized checklists to help the front end and back end on inspections, to help streamline that process, and we are almost there now,” he said.
During the provincial election campaign, the BC NDP said they would fast-track factory-built homes as one way to ease the housing crisis.
The party pledged to create a provincewide framework for the housing type, along with pre-approved construction designs to streamline the permitting process.
The province has already unveiled a catalogue of free, standardized designs for small-scale, multi-unit homes that comply with the latest B.C. building code and which can be customized to varying lot sizes.
Hurley said the task force hopes to bring in as many B.C. mayors as possible in the months to come.