Premier David Eby said the 'restrictive' zoning approach by many communities is preventing the creation of small scale, multiunit homes that are needed to address the province’s housing crisis.BLAIR GABLE/Reuters
British Columbia plans to boost housing density with legislation in the fall that will allow up to four homes on a traditional single-family detached lot, overriding some local governments that currently don’t allow basement suites.
Premier David Eby said the “restrictive” zoning approach by many communities is preventing the creation of small scale, multiunit homes that are needed to address the province’s housing crisis.
The change is part of a new provincial housing policy announced Monday, which will also include incentives for homeowners to renovate their homes to add low-cost rental accommodation. The plan is short on details, with the government promising to consult over the coming months on how to achieve its intent.
“Our plan will create a lot more of these middle-class homes through provincial zoning rules, with faster permitting, less red tape and more incentives,” Mr. Eby said. “And our plan will create more rental housing stock by making it easier and legal for people to rent out secondary and basement suites across the province.”
Jen Ford, president of the Union of BC Municipalities, expressed concern about what she describes as the province’s incursion into an area of local government authority: land use.
“When the province steps into a space like this, we definitely want to see that they’re consulting with those local governments and making sure that we understand what that implication looks like for planning departments and what that means for official community plans.”
In 2018, the province’s New Democratic Party government announced a $7-billion, 10-year “Homes for B.C.” plan, which promised to have 114,000 new homes completed or under active construction by 2027.
On Monday, the province released figures to show that plan is on track, with almost 75,000 additional homes either open, under construction or “in progress.” But Liberal housing critic Karin Kirkpatrick said the tally is inflated, counting units that are expected to be freed up as a result of policy changes.
“I have to really question those numbers,” she said.
Even using the most generous accounting, Mr. Eby said it is clear that the province isn’t keeping up.
“What we’re facing right now is a really remarkable challenge in British Columbia related to our success,” he said. Population growth, combined with inflation and rising interest rates, means that residents continue to be squeezed out of a costly housing market.
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said the legislation coming later this year will short-circuit zoning debates in communities by allowing up to four units on a traditional housing lot – with additional units in areas well served by transit.
“This will be province-wide policy. This means no more long zoning processes just to build a duplex, a triplex or a row home. Without more of these types of homes, we risk pushing more of our next generation out of this province,” he said.
Starting next year, the province will launch a pilot project offering homeowners a forgivable loan for half of the cost of renovations, up to a maximum of $40,000 over five years, to help create new secondary suites. The loan can be forgiven if the homeowner meets all conditions laid out in the program, including renting their unit out at below-market rates for a minimum of five years.
Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto said her government is going even further. In January, the city council voted to approve a “missing middle” initiative that guts Victoria’s single-family zoning law to allow construction of six-unit homes on single lots, with up to 12-unit townhomes on some corner lots, without rezoning.
“We actually challenge our own residents to be really, really bold and really provocative about what they can create,” she said. “We look at really trying to reimagine the entire city.”