The City of North Vancouver is hitting pause on plans to allow more homes on single-family lots, as directed by the province.
Council was set to vote Monday on changes that would bring the city’s bylaws into compliance with the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs’ mandate to allow for four units on lots over 280 square metres, or six homes on properties within 400 metres of frequent transit stops. The plans were intended to create more housing in low-density “restricted” areas.
Already, the city permits duplexes with secondary suites and coach houses. Taking that into account, if all 880 properties subject to the new zoning were to be rebuilt with the allowable number of homes, it would add another 1,000 residences, staff estimated, most of them in the form of six-unit buildings on standard size lots.
With a deadline of June 1 looming, Mayor Linda Buchanan instead moved to have the matter sent back to staff for “consideration of standards that are more in keeping with the existing character of the affected neighbourhoods while achieving the legislative requirements of the provincial unit requirements.”
Buchanan specified that she was not using neighbourhood character as a bulwark against change, as some other municipalities do. But she said it was clear residents in many neighbourhoods did not know the scale of the changes that could be coming, adding that more consultation was needed.
Buchanan noted that council resents being told how to zone land by the senior level of government.
“People have heard me say this many, many times publicly, that this is the largest overreach that the provincial government has done in terms of cities’ and local governments’ ability to look at land use,” she said. “We’ve been leaders for decades. We already allow three and four units, and we’ve done so in neighbourhoods that have, quite frankly, had very little impact in terms of the character.”
Buchanan said she was particularly concerned about the lots that might contain six units and the backlash that they’d bring from neighbours.
“I think those will be very imposing. I think there’s certain land that might be able to accommodate that but I think we have better ways in which we can look at certain corridors that will fit,” she said. “We know that more (people) will be coming, but we do need to actually be thoughtful on how this how this impacts the already existing neighbourhoods”
The City of North Vancouver was already granted an extension by the province for updating small scale multi-unit housing rules, giving the municipality time to complete an analysis on how the changes would impact utilities infrastructure. Most municipalities had to have their bylaws rewritten and adopted by June 2024.
“I’m less concerned about meeting a provincial deadline and I’m more concerned about making sure that we’re going to do this right,” Buchanan said.
In 2024, when District of West Vancouver council outright refused to update its bylaws, Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon gave council a 30-day ultimatum to adopt the changes or see the province step in and do it for them. Council members interrupted their summer holidays for a special meeting to narrowly pass the required rules, which only applied to about 220 properties.
In a statement on Friday, a Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs spokesperson reiterated that the mandate is intended to free up more land for diverse housing types that will be more affordable than single-family homes. The city has been provided with $11 million to deliver small scale multi-unit housing and the deadline still stands, the province says.
“To ensure this work moves forward throughout B.C., the City of North Vancouver needs to implement these requirements by June 1, 2025. This timeline includes the extension the city received to finalize its design, funding and construction co-ordination for utilities needed to accommodate the legislation. The City of North Vancouver could be subject to a ministerial order if the city does not implement SSMUH,” the statement read. “Many local governments are championing SSMUH by speeding up or waiving unnecessary processes and requirements and creating or aligning their site standards with the province’s recommendations. In these communities, we are starting to see strong uptake.”
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