The District of West Vancouver has been given a deadline by the provincial government to conform with mandated housing legislation.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry of Housing stated that a 30-day non-compliance notice has been issued to West Van, after the district voted in May to reject passing bylaw amendments to comply with provincial rules about adding density on single-family properties.
“At the end of that 30 days, a ministerial order could be issued,” reads the statement.
The overarching message of the ministry’s statement was positive, stating that nearly 90 per cent of all B.C. communities have adopted small-scale multi-unit housing legislation, while others have requested time extensions to consider the rules. But it singled out West Van as the one municipality that has outright rejected the policy.
Communities that have asked for extensions include the City of North Vancouver, Coquitlam and Osoyoos.
Thursday’s announcement comes on the heels of stern words issued by B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, who criticized West Van in June for missing housing targets, and warned of compliance measures if the district didn’t conform to the incoming rules – which carried a June 30 deadline to be put in place.
“It’s clearly a council that believes having housing options for families in their community is not something they’re interested in,” Kahlon told the North Shore News at the time.
Blanket zoning policy ignores decades of careful planning, West Van council says
But West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager disagreed with the minster’s point of view, arguing that his municipality is passing significant, carefully planned housing projects, and already has rules that allow secondary suites and coach houses on single-family lots.
However, around 220 properties – about 1.6 per cent of the district’s total – stood to have their allowable density increased by the provincially mandated changes.
When West Van unanimously voted to reject the rules in May, councillors lambasted the province for forcing blanket zoning policy that ignores decades of careful planning by local government.
After Thursday’s announcement, Sager said some of the 220 properties not covered by the district’s greater density allowances are located on Eagle Island, “which simply doesn’t have the capacity to have more homes.”
“If one takes the time to look at where one of those properties are, none of them can be converted into fourplexes, none of them,” he said.
Sager also acknowledged that council’s decision to reject the province’s rules was somewhat of a protest against sweeping regulations that override comprehensive planning done at the municipal level.
In its recent statement, the housing ministry said that provincial legislation to fix outdating zoning rules will pave the way for more housing options for people with middle incomes.
“People expect governments to work together to tackle the housing crisis and provide more homes for people,” Kahlon said in the release. “We are encouraged that the vast majority of local governments have worked hard to adopt much-needed provincial legislation to fix old zoning rules and deliver the types of homes that people need.”
By June 30, the province required municipalities to change zoning bylaws to allow either a minimum of one secondary suite or detached accessory dwelling unit, or a minimum of three-to-four units on a single-family lot; or a minimum of six dwelling units in areas near bus stops with frequent transit service.
Narrowly passing its own policy on June 3, North Vancouver District voted for a restrictive reading of the rules, allowing for suites and coach houses on most residential lots, but not for housing forms with additional density like fourplexes.
At the time, three dissenting councillors argued that this route didn’t align with the intention of the new rules.
This article has been updated to include comment from Mayor Mark Sager.
