Claudia Culley
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder
The Regional District of Nanaimo has developed a list of affordable housing projects to be undertaken this year and in 2026, working to increase housing options and home ownership affordability.
Last year, RDN staff put a Long-Range Planning, Energy and Sustainability Level of Service report together, which identified necessary projects related to housing and affordability.
There are 10 projects on the RDN’s 2025 to 2026 housing project list. One of these projects is reporting on the RDN regulations around making tiny homes and recreation vehicles year-round dwelling units and next steps for tackling associated issues and concerns. This project is expected to take five months to complete and will help with affordable home ownership and expand the range of housing options.
Earlier this year, the Islands Trust collaborated with the RDN on a tiny homes on wheels enablement in the Trust Area project, which aimed to develop a regulatory framework that clears the way for the responsible development and integration of tiny homes into the Islands Trust Area.
After hosting a technical panel workshop in March, it was recommended that a distinct tiny homes on wheels designation be developed, and that construction standards align with relevant building codes and manufactured homes standards. It was also recommended that a standardized inspection of protocols be implemented.
The RDN and Island Trust will be presenting their findings at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) 2025 Convention this September, hosting seminar on tiny homes as rural housing solutions. They are one of six presenting groups that were accepted out of 100 applications, said Tobi Elliot, Gabriola Island Trustee.
“Because we’re going to UBCM and being able to present this information, it’s really key for all regional districts who are looking for this potential,” Elliot said.
“The joint work between Islands Trust and RDN is quite significant, and it helped advance their project because the staff who participated in that technical working group discovered they could actually permit tiny homes on wheels, and this has never been a potential outcome before.”
Other projects on the RDN’s housing list include looking at issues and options for developing dwellings as strata in rural areas, which will help with rental housing and affordable home ownership, and reviewing the RDN planning application process, which will expand housing options. Both projects are expected to take six months to complete.
Applying for infrastructure planning grants to conduct a preliminary water and sewer infrastructure study on servicing rural village centres, which is expected to take six months, is also among the projects and will expand housing options.
Additional projects include creating a proposed consultation process and update for the Manufactured Home Relocation Policy, which is expected to take three months, and reviewing secondary suite regulations to explore flexibility with suite options, which may take four months to complete. Both projects will help tackle affordable home ownership.
Looking at the policy challenges and considerations of reducing lot sizes to one hectare in rural areas, which may take six months to two years, is among the projects, as is creating a report that discusses housing funding grant opportunities and housing program options for the RDN board’s consideration. This is expected to take seven to 10 months. These projects are intended to expand housing options, among other impacts.
Updating the Strata Conversions Policy and reviewing the Fees & Charges Bylaw, which are expected to take two-and-a-half and six to eight months respectively to complete, are additional projects.
All the affordable housing projects align with the province’s housing bills. Two temporary housing planners are taking on the bulk of these projects, and they are being funded through the $345,000 grant the RDN received from B.C.’s Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs.
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