Impacts of Provincial Housing Legislation Changes
In 2023, the Government of British Columbia passed several new pieces of legislation intended to help fulfill theHomes for People plan and address housing needs for residents across the province. This includesBill 44: Housing Statues Amendment Act, which aims to improve housing supply and affordability, expedite approval processes for residential projects and allow greater density than traditionally permitted. Under the new legislation, all local governments were required to review and amend land use bylaws to allow housing at the prescribed density by June 30, 2024.
The impacts of these legislative changes vary from community to community, and even between neighborhoods, depending on factors such as population and proximity to transit. See below for information about how the new provincial legislation affects property owners in the RDCO Electoral Areas East and West.
For more information on the new provincial amendments, requirements, and bills, visit theProvince's website. Questions about provincial mandates should be directed to the B.C. Planning and Land Use Management Branch atPLUM@gov.bc.ca.
See this printable FAQ for more information.
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Overview of provincial changes
| New legislation | Summary | Impact to RDCO Electoral Areas |
|---|---|---|
| Bill 44: Small-scale multi-unit housing | Under Bill 44, all local governments must review and amend land use bylaws to allow housing at the prescribed density by June 30, 2024. | Bill 44 requires that a secondary suite be permitted on properties in all single-family residential zones within the two RDCO electoral areas; Electoral Area East and Electoral Area West.Site-specific constraints may mean that it will not be feasible to develop a suite on all lots. To meet the requirements of Bill 44, the Regional Board adopted Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 871-288 on June 13, 2024, to allowsecondary suitesas a permitted use in 13 residential zones and amended the zoning of 29 lots that were previously rezoned under the RDCO’s previous process for permitting suites. |
| Bill 46: NewDevelopment FinanceTools | Development Cost Charges and Levies (DCCs), andAmenity Cost Charges (ACCs) are regulatory tools that help local governments finance ongoing development within their communities. | DCCs primarily support growth-related capital infrastructure investments. The changes introduced by Bill 46 now permit collection of DCCs for fire, police and wastewater facilities (previously not permitted). ACCs may support capital investment into additional categories such as community centres, recreation facilities, libraries and daycares. The implications of Bill 46 for the RDCO electoral areas is nominal compared to the impacts and opportunities in municipal areas where housing growth is expected to be more significant. |
| Housing NeedsReports (HNR) | All local governments are required to update their Housing Needs Reports using a standard method on a regular basis for a more consistent, robust understanding of local housing needs over 20 years. | 2024 RDCO Interim Housing Needs Report |
| Public hearings | To speed up the building of homes for people and support pro-active planning, one-off, site-by-site public hearings for rezonings have been phased out for housing projects that are consistent with Official Community Plans. | Public hearings will no longer be held for proposals that align with the Official Community Plan. On May 23, the Regional Board adopted Bylaw No.1550, Amendment No.1 to Development Application Procedures Bylaw No.1527, which outlines the process for when a public hearing is mandatory, not required or prohibited by legislation. |
| Bill 47: TransitOrientedAreas (TOA) | New legislation will require some municipalities to designate Transit-Oriented Development Areas (TOD Areas) near transit hubs. These TOD Areas are defined as areas within 800 metres of a rapid transit station and 400 metres of a bus exchange. Within these areas, the legislation outlines specific density and parking requirements. | No impact to the RDCO electoral areas as there are no Transit Oriented Development Areas. |