White Rock - Housing Needs Report

Consultation has concluded

In 2019 the Province passed legislation requiring local governments to collect and analyze population and housing-related data to identify current and anticipated housing needs and to articulate those needs in the preparation of a Housing Needs Report. The City of White Rock is now in the process of preparing its Housing Needs Report and as part of this work is looking for input from existing and future (or would-be) White Rock residents.

There are two key components making up this project. The first includes the preparation of a "Part 1" report, being a report that summarizes the core data required by the Province (per BC Reg. 90/2019). The City is collaborating with Metro Vancouver in the preparation of this "Part 1" report which will be shared on this webpage at some point in the near future.

The second key component involves a comprehensive program of community engagement, likely to be executed using a variety of digital mediums in light of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. While the majority of engagement activities will be scheduled in the late winter / early Spring of 2021 you can start to engage today by completing the City of White Rock Housing Needs Survey - see link below. The results of the survey will be integrated with the feedback we receive through future community engagement activities. All of the information collected will be used to help the City better-understand local housing experiences that may otherwise be lost in the data.

In addition to engaging White Rock residents, City staff will be reaching out to local not-for-profit housing agencies and those who work to provide housing supports in the community. With this said, the City would like to acknowledge those who have already expressed an interest in supporting this important project, being: Semiahmoo House Society, Homelessness Services Association of BC, Sources Community Resource Centre, Semiahmoo First Nation, the City of Surrey, and Options Community Services. The City's Housing Advisory Committee will also play a critical role in reviewing various iterations of the report and evaluating emerging themes as they relate to local housing needs.

We thank you in advance for taking an interest in this project and look forward to speaking with you soon.

In 2019 the Province passed legislation requiring local governments to collect and analyze population and housing-related data to identify current and anticipated housing needs and to articulate those needs in the preparation of a Housing Needs Report. The City of White Rock is now in the process of preparing its Housing Needs Report and as part of this work is looking for input from existing and future (or would-be) White Rock residents.

There are two key components making up this project. The first includes the preparation of a "Part 1" report, being a report that summarizes the core data required by the Province (per BC Reg. 90/2019). The City is collaborating with Metro Vancouver in the preparation of this "Part 1" report which will be shared on this webpage at some point in the near future.

The second key component involves a comprehensive program of community engagement, likely to be executed using a variety of digital mediums in light of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. While the majority of engagement activities will be scheduled in the late winter / early Spring of 2021 you can start to engage today by completing the City of White Rock Housing Needs Survey - see link below. The results of the survey will be integrated with the feedback we receive through future community engagement activities. All of the information collected will be used to help the City better-understand local housing experiences that may otherwise be lost in the data.

In addition to engaging White Rock residents, City staff will be reaching out to local not-for-profit housing agencies and those who work to provide housing supports in the community. With this said, the City would like to acknowledge those who have already expressed an interest in supporting this important project, being: Semiahmoo House Society, Homelessness Services Association of BC, Sources Community Resource Centre, Semiahmoo First Nation, the City of Surrey, and Options Community Services. The City's Housing Advisory Committee will also play a critical role in reviewing various iterations of the report and evaluating emerging themes as they relate to local housing needs.

We thank you in advance for taking an interest in this project and look forward to speaking with you soon.

Consultation has concluded

  • Housing Needs Report Received by Council

    On November 22, 2021 White Rock Council adopted the City's first-ever Housing Needs Report (HNR). The Report recognizes six (6) key areas of local housing need and includes a summary of demographic and housing-related data, as well as the results of a series of public engagement activities held between January and July, 2021.

    The six areas of local housing need recognized in the HNR include:

    1. Affordable Ownership Housing;
    2. Rental Housing;
    3. Special Needs Housing;
    4. Seniors Housing;
    5. Family Housing; and
    6. Shelters and Housing for People At-Risk of Homelessness.

    Each of the areas of housing need are described further in a corporate report (link) and the HNR itself (see Documents on right). The Housing Needs Report includes the information required by the Province through B.C. Regulation 90 / 2019. As outlined in the Regulation, completed Housing Needs Reports are to be updated every five (5) years. Between each five-year period, municipalities are expected to pursue policy changes and other interventions that address areas of identified need, with the scheduled review allowing local governments, and the province, to measure the success of certain interventions. The City's Housing Advisory Committee, working with Council, will play a key role in supporting the review of options that will help address the areas of housing need identified in the HNR.

  • Housing Engagement Summary Report

    The results of the City's recent engagement with residents, builders, medical workers, vulnerable populations and others is now available (see "Engagement Summary" in Documents). The next major step in this project is to review the "Part 1" report (the Census data), the results of the Housing Needs Survey, and the results of community engagement and, in doing so, prepare a complete Housing Needs Report. The final Report will present Council with areas of local housing need along a housing continuum. Following this important work Council may choose to direct staff to explore strategies that could be implemented to address local housing needs in White Rock.

  • Upcoming Key Stakeholder Engagement for Housing Needs Report

    A series of key stakeholder workshops and a Renter’s Forum will be held in June to support the ongoing preparation of a Housing Needs Report for the City of White Rock. Staff and our consultants from CitySpaces have scheduled the workshops and forum as follows:


    Those wishing to attend a workshop should be actively engaged in the industry tied to the session(s). Please note that there will be later opportunities for broader engagement with the White Rock community. The Landowner Workshop will primarily target local religious institutions that have larger land holdings that may be conducive to supporting a variety of housing options and levels of affordability.

    The workshops and forum will be hosted by CitySpaces and the City of White Rock using Zoom.

  • Upcoming - Launch of Consultation Phase

    The City of White Rock, and its consulting team from CitySpaces, will be hosting a Public Open House on April 13, 2021 from 5:30pm to 7:00pm to present our preliminary findings regarding local housing needs. These findings have been informed by demographic and housing-related information as presented in a “Part 1” Report prepared by Metro Vancouver and the results of the White Rock Housing Needs Survey, which received over 400 responses – thank you to those who participated!

    Links to these two documents can be found on the right hand column of this page under "Documents".

    The Open House will include an overview of our findings to date followed by a question and comment session. During this session, participants will be asked a series of questions focused on the results of the data collection and community survey exercises in addition to broader questions focused on housing challenges and local needs.

    Please click on this DIRECT LINK to access the Open House [Starting at 5:30pm on April 13, 2021]. A digital feedback from will be made available on the date of the Open House [LINK TO FORM HERE].

    The next phase in this project will include a series of digital discussions with White Rock residents and community stakeholders to further identify gaps and opportunities in the local housing market. The project team is especially interested in hearing about the “lived experiences” of White Rock residents and we look forward to continuing the dialogue regarding this especially important component of our community and overall quality of life.

    Please stay tuned to this webpage for more updates on how to engage in the project. Thank you!

  • Release of Responses to Housing Needs Survey

    City staff are pleased to share the responses to the White Rock Housing Needs Survey (see responses under Documents tab). Over 400 White Rock residents participated in the survey which will now be further reviewed to help improve our understanding of local housing needs. Please stay tuned for more information regarding the results of the survey, including information regarding the responses received to the survey's open ended questions.

    Thank you again to all of those who participated!