Incremental housing density coming to British Columbia
In November 2023, the Province of British Columba, Canada made a landmark policy change to promote housing. The provincial government has introduced new housing legislation with two goals: 1) to deliver more small-scale, multi-unit housing for people, including townhomes, triplexes and laneway homes, and 2) to fix outdated zoning rules to help build more homes faster.
Why has British Columbia enacted such sweeping housing reforms? The answer is simple – need. “Anyone looking for a place to live in a community they love knows how hard it is – and outdated zoning rules are making that even harder,” said Premier David Eby. “Constructing mostly high-rise condo towers or single-family homes means B.C. isn’t building enough small-scale multi-unit homes that fit into existing neighborhoods and give people more housing options that are within reach. That’s why we’re taking action to fix zoning problems and deliver more homes for people, faster.”
David Eby, a Canadian politician and lawyer, has served as the premier since November 2022. David authored the book “Cracks in the Foundation: Solving the Housing Crisis in Canada's Poorest Neighbourhood” and is a self-declared policy expert in providing housing. He knows BC needs housing but is falling short due to high construction costs, resident pushback, and inflexible regulations. In response, he is advocating for zoning reforms and promoting small-scale multifamily housing options.
Despite this focused mission, there is still push back. Although 95% of communities supported and adopted this small-scale multi-unit housing legislation, as of late July 2024, 5% of BC communities were not in compliance (reference, see the Quick Facts). Since they did not comply with changes to their zoning by the June deadline, these 9 communities have either requested extensions or outright rejected the zoning amendments. For example, the District of West Vancouver (suburb of Vancouver), rejected passing bylaw amendments and is currently not in compliance with the new small-scale multi-unit legislation. This community has been sent a non-compliance notice. At the end of that 30 days, this could be escalated to a ministerial order, which would provide a small window for compliance and implementation.
Within BC itself, there is a 50-year case study of proactive housing successes in Vancouver. A strong housing market and political backing fuel Vancouver's abundant accessory dwelling units (ADUs) supply. Vancouver has slowly legalized and removed barriers to ADUs since the 1980s, resulting in an impressive tally of 25,000 today. They have been able to build for small-unit housing demand because of their political constituents who might have been skeptical initially. While Vancouver has a headstart on ADU development, its successes have set an example for Seattle and Portland, who have goals to increase their annual production and lower regulatory barriers.
The Province of BC understands it’ll take years of reforming many other regulations to see real improvements in housing affordability. But it highlighted Auckland, New Zealand which made similar changes in 2016 and has led to the creation of more than 20,000 additional homes over five years.
How did the provincial government manage to enact such major legislation when so many other communities have failed? The BC government has made great strides by collaborating with local groups to address the housing crisis. If housing costs were low, the push would have been poorly timed and may not have gained enough momentum. Due to its housing need and political proactivity, BC has progressed more quickly than other provinces, but it still has much work to do in the next decade before residents see the impacts. With long political and construction timelines, it is crucial for BC to start early and set an example for other communities with similar housing issues.
 | A guest post by
|