District of West Vancouver, B.C., passes zoning changes, falls in line with province

WEST VANCOUVER, B.C. — Councillors in the District of West Vancouver, B.C., have narrowly voted in favour of getting onboard with provincial legislation requiring communities to allow multi-unit housing on lots that have previously been zoned for single-family homes.

The district, which includes some of British Columbia’s most expensive properties, had initially rejected the provincial legislation aimed at easing the housing crisis.

The B.C. government had set a deadline of June 30 for communities to update their zoning rules in accordance with the legislation passed last fall.

Last month, the province issued a statement saying it had sent a non-compliance notice to the District of West Vancouver and a ministerial order could follow.

West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager told Monday’s council meeting that he had received a letter from Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon saying, “do it, or I’m simply going to do it” when it came to making the zoning changes.

Speaking in favour of the motion, Cllr. Nora Gambioli told the meeting she felt the district hadn’t done enough to tackle housing challenges and the zoning changes would apply to less than three per cent of the total number of lots in the district.

Gambioli said that amounts to just over 380 individual lots, while zoning for all other properties in the district would remain unchanged.

“We’re not that special. We’re not more special than every other municipality in the province, and I think we need to do our part,” she said.

“We haven’t been doing our part for a long time, so I am appreciative, actually, that the province has sent us, essentially, this ultimatum, and I support it.”

Sager, meanwhile, said he doesn’t think the province’s approach is democratic. The mayor said he had sent numerous requests asking Kahlon to consider the actions the district is already taking to address housing challenges.

“It makes me ill,” Sager said of the required bylaw changes.

The provincial statement issued in July said nearly 90 per cent of 188 local governments had heeded the legislation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press