With a mandate to expedite the delivery of a range of housing forms that meet the needs and affordability of people across BC in a shorter timeframe, the Province of British Columbia adopted the Homes for People plan in April 2023. The four pillars of the province’s housing plan include:
- Unlocking more homes faster (through flexible land use regulations, digital permitting, improving development review process, and incentive programs);
- Delivering better, more affordable homes (through investing in social housing and post-secondary student housing, protecting existing affordable units, revitalizing co-op housing, and partnering with indigenous communities);
- Supporting those with the greatest housing need (through establishing renter’s tax credit, creating homes for people experiencing homelessness, supporting renter in crisis, and revitalizing and expanding existing BC Housing properties);
- Creating a housing market for people, not speculators (through implementing ‘flipping tax’, regulating short-term rentals, expediating tenancy-related disputes, expanding areas for speculation and vacancy tax, improving real estate regulations, and offering additional protection for renters)
As part of implementing the action items recommended in the housing plan, the Province introduced and ratified the following statues that amended Local Government Act (LGA) in late 2023:
- Bill 44 – Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, often referred to as Small-Scale and Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH) legislation.
- Bill 46 – Housing Statutes (Development Financing) Amendment Act; and
- Bill 47 – Housing Statutes (Transit-Oriented Areas) Amendment Act.
The new amendments to LGA intends to diversity the housing forms in existing single-family and duplex residential zones –referred to as ‘restrictive zones’ in the SSMUH legislation -- thereby improving housing supply and affordability in communities across the province while fostering social inclusion and vibrancy. Over the last two months, the Ministry of Housing has developed policy manuals and other resources to provide additional guidance to municipalities in implementing the required legislated changes, in addition to organizing multiple online-information sessions. Among the three housing statutes, SSMUH or Bill 44 amendments will have the highest level of impact on the Town of Smithers’ land use planning and development framework.
Local governments are required to amend their zoning bylaws by June 30, 2024, to meet the SSMUH requirements established in the Local Government Act. A local government may apply to the Minister of Housing, for an extension to the June 30th deadline either under extraordinary circumstances, such as natural disasters and wildfires, or where the local government does not have adequate infrastructure to permit the required density. At this point, the Town does not foresee the need to submit a deadline extension request to the Minister.
Purpose: Bill 44 / SSMUH Legislation
SSMUH Legislation includes a range of provisions to support the supply and diversification of housing stock, through densification of the existing ‘restrictive residential zones’ characterised by single-detached and/or duplex dwelling developments. The new legislative requirements include:
- Permitting a secondary suite and/or a carriage house on all parcels in the single-family/duplex zones.
- Permitting a minimum of 3 units on parcels less than 280 m2, while permitting a minimum of 4 units on parcels exceeding 280 m2, where it is located within an urban containment boundary or in a municipality with population over 5,000.
- Prohibition on public hearings where a proposed housing-related zoning amendment is consistent with the OCP.
- Updating the Housing Needs Report in accordance with the template and standard housing need methodology to be established by the Province.
- Updating the OCP to align with the updated zoning bylaw and housing needs identified.
- Updating zoning bylaws to comply with the mandatory SSMUH standards and to accommodate the housing needs recommendations.
At the broader level, factors such as population size and existing housing typology in residential zones determine the extent and type of amendments required to bring an existing zoning bylaw into compliance with the provincial standards. Context-specific factors, such as presence of environmentally sensitive and heritage protection areas, and availability of municipal infrastructure, etc. will determine the minimum density that must be permitted on a given parcel. Communities with established Transit Oriented (TOAs) must meet higher density and land development standards as established by Bill 47 – this does not include Smithers.
Project Timeline:
The Town initiated the OCP-Zoning-Housing Need Update Project in March 2024, with an aim to complete the legislated requirements in the following order:
- Prior to June 30, 2024: Update Zoning Bylaws to meet the legislated minimum density requirements in restricted residential zones;
- Prior to Jan 1, 2025: Complete the Interim Housing Needs Report; and
- Prior to Dec 31, 2025: Update OCP and Zoning Bylaws to reflect the housing needs.
In order to achieve the legislated timelines, the zoning and OCP bylaw updates will be done simultaneously, but in two phases – one each before and after undertaking the housing needs analysis. The mandatory zoning amendments to be completed before the June 30th deadline and associated OCP amendments will be addressed in phase 1 while phase 2 will involve housing-need specific updates to the OCP and zoning bylaws.
Once the zoning bylaw update has been adopted by Council, prior to the June 30th-deadline, the Town must send a copy of the new bylaw to the Minister of Housing, to ensure that the local zoning bylaw has reasonably incorporated SSMUH legislation requirements. Where a local government fails to meet the legislated June 30th-deadline and have not been granted a deadline extension by the Minister, the Minister reserves the authority to issue an order enacting the legislated changes to the community’s zoning bylaw.
Community Engagement:
Given that the amendments are mostly to integrate the provincially legislated requirements into the Town’s land use policies and Housing Needs report, educating stakeholders, Council, public, and players in the development industry will form the central component of the engagement process. Nonetheless, community and stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the housing typology, design and siting standards. The project will have two phases of community engagement.
Phase 1 community engagement was held in April 2024. Consequently, at the May 9th Committee of the Whole Meeting, the project team drafted and presented the list of OCP and zoning amendments that fall within the purview of Bill 44 amendments, to Council for its feedback. The Bylaws will be presented to Council at the May 28th Regular Meeting for their first readings, enabling the Town to comply with the mandatory zoning and OCP amendments before the June 30, 2024 deadline.
Phase 2 Community engagement will commence in early Fall 2024, once the Housing Needs report is updated in compliance with the newly established provincial standards. The proposed timeline will enable the Town to complete all the relevant SSMUH-legislation requirements by the end of 2024.
Resources:
Provincial Policy Manual: Small- Scale Multi-Unit Housing Legislation