February 6th, 2024

*NOTE: Some of this content may be been updated, for current updates please see our Legislative Changes page.

The Urban Development Institute is optimistic about new housing legislation from the B.C. government and how it will impact residential development long-term. But we also know that the success of Bills 44, 46 and 47 hinges on its implementation.

Here’s what we know, what we don’t know yet, and what we’re doing to minimize the uncertainty that comes with these changes.

Bill 44: Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (The Missing Middle)

Missing middle housing includes duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, laneway homes, and other low-density forms of housing.

Bill 44 encourages housing density to meet the long-range needs of B.C. communities in three ways:

1. It requires municipalities to allow two to four housing units per single-family lot where the population is over 5,000, or as many as six housing units on selected lots near highly used bus stops,
2. It prohibits public hearings on residential rezonings that are consistent with the municipality’s Official Community Plan (OCP), and
3. It requires cities to plan for and zone 20 years’ worth of projected housing needs – this includes existing and future housing needs as communities grow.

Ultimately, this will provide developers with better certainty. Proactive long-range zoning combined with the elimination of public hearings on residential projects that already meet the OCP diminishes the risk of changing goal posts late in the development process. By shifting the focus of public engagement into the early stages of planning, public guidance on a project can be integrated before too many components have been set into motion.

What we don’t know about Bill 44:

What will municipalities decide their cities should look like long-term?

The policy is intentionally flexible with the goal that each municipality’s unique needs can be met in the way that makes the most sense to them, within certain parameters. This means that the specifics of what each community’s 20-year OCP and pre-zoning will look like is up to them.

How will new requirements for updating Housing Needs Reports, OCPs and Zoning Bylaws differ from current processes?

The Ministry of Housing has not yet released the guidance documents that will set out the process for municipalities to make these updates. We expect to see more guidance released by mid-2024 which could provide answers to questions like this. At the same time, we will continue to work with municipal staff to understand their concerns and advocate for developers’ needs

Bill 46: Financing Future Amenities

Because a proactively zoned community reduces spot rezoning processes, which would normally allow for amenity fees and voluntary contributions, Bill 46 creates the Amenity Cost Charge (ACC) to address the long-term needs of the community.

This new tool will likely work in a similar way to the existing Development Cost Charges (DCCs). In this case, the ACC is based on the 20-year plans that municipalities create to determine the charge for new development in a way that accounts for the benefit to new and existing residents separately. 

Bill 46 also expands the ability of DCCs to fund fire protection, police, solid waste and recycling facilities, and portions of certain highway facilities. 

What we don’t know about Bill 46:

What will municipalities set their ACC rates at?

Outside of a framework legislation, the Province has not provided further guidance on the exact formula that municipalities should apply to their ACCs. This could raise concerns about financial viability for projects.

How will existing amenities charges interact with the new formula during the transition phase?

If municipalities choose to use ACCs - they can still use community amenity contributions and density bonuses for rezonings, we don’t know how these potentially layered funding mechanisms will interact with each other. But we do know that project viability will be necessary to get more homes built, and something to be considered as municipalities set these charges. 

UDI has shared these concerns with the provincial government, as well as recommendations to address them.

Bill 47: Transit-Oriented Development

This Bill identifies 104 Transit-Oriented Areas (TOA) within 400 to 800 metres from major transit exchanges across the province. Within the TOAs, local governments are expected to:

• Consider the provincial guidance on heights and densities when updating or amending zoning bylaws,
• Not reject applications brought to Council based on height and density alone, and
• Remove minimum parking requirements to allow developers to decide parking needs based on each project.

This framework takes place in two phases, with 52 areas where planning has already begun taking effect immediately, and the remaining 52 areas requiring designation by their municipalities by the end of June 2024.

What we don’t know about Bill 47:

How will municipal policies apply within the TOAs?

Municipalities are allowed to reject development for reasons other than height and density, and rezonings may still be required for some projects. It remains unclear the impact that design guidelines, mix of uses or tenures and the hierarchy of other municipal policies, like floorplate size or shadowing will have on heights and densities in TOAs.

We are Entering a Transition Period

Municipalities are required to fully implement the provisions in Bills 44, 46 and 47 by the end of 2025—and we know that the transition period is critical to how developers do business.

UDI is working to minimize this period of uncertainty as much as we can because we know uncertainty is bad for your business.

We see a lot of promise in these new policies, as long as they are executed well.

As you navigate this transition period, tell us how you're adapting to these changes. What are the pain points? And what answers are you struggling to find?

UDI is optimistic about Bills 44, 46 and 47, but it’s our role to look at the policies impacting developers with a critical lens and to find the gaps, so that we can recommend solutions.

The success of these changes will come down to execution, and we rely on our members to let us know when you are running into roadblocks along the way.

Sincerely,

Anne and the UDI Team