Having long been frustrated with provincial downloads to municipal governments, Sicamous Mayor Colleen Anderson and council is supporting a community's quest to establish financial assistance in light of new housing legislation. 

At the March 12 meeting, the district received a letter from Abbotsford council requesting support of a resolution being submitted to this fall's Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) regarding Infrastructure Support for Specified Municipalities 鈥� Housing Supply Act. 

The provincial act, introduced in 2023, is requiring multiple specified municipalities to review and update their zoning bylaws by the end of December to allow increased density in line with government mandated housing targets. There is currently, however, no corresponding funding to assist with infrastructure upgrades required from additional users of those services.

As such, the resolution asks the government to "establish and provide long-term, stable and predictable infrastructure funding" for affected communities to address those added challenges. Anderson recommended writing a letter of support, and council supporting the resolution on the floor at UBCM.

鈥淚 feel their pain because there is no infrastructure support," she said. "The province is passing down legislation to different communities and municipalities with no parachute, no funding for infrastructure, water and sewer, all that stuff that goes along with this.鈥�

The recommendation to send a letter of support was unanimously backed by council.