Proposed legislative amendments will help improve planning and public hearing processes to support the timely delivery of housing for people in Vancouver.

If passed by the legislature, Bill 18 – Vancouver Charter Amendment Act (No. 2), 2024, will amend the Vancouver Charter to better align with rules and authorities provided to other local governments under the Local Government Act. The proposed legislation would create change in three key areas.

The legislation requires Vancouver to adopt a city-wide official development plan (ODP), similar to an official community plan. This requirement will be phased in to reflect that Vancouver does not currently have a city-wide ODP. The legislation also establishes the same rules for public hearings as those set for other local governments. This will phase out one-off public hearings for rezonings for housing projects that are consistent with the official development plan. Instead, the emphasis will be on providing opportunities for people to be involved upfront in shaping their communities through the official development plan process.

The proposed amendments also include improvements requested by the City of Vancouver to streamline approvals through delegation, and by authorizing a development approval bylaw consistent with other municipalities.

These changes build on the Province’s work to support local governments with the $1-billion Growing Communities Fund to help deliver the infrastructure projects necessary to enable community growth. It is complemented by $51 million in capacity funding to support local governments’ work to meet new requirements that will accelerate approval processes and build the homes people need.

The changes also build on amendments to the Local Government Act and Vancouver Charter to shift to upfront zoning, which will facilitate an increase in housing supply in communities throughout B.C.

Learn More:

To learn about local government housing initiatives to help build homes faster, visit: : https://www2.gov.bc.ca/housinginitiatives

To learn about government’s Homes for People action plan, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023HOUS0019-000436

To learn about the steps the Province is taking to tackle the housing crisis and deliver affordable homes for people in British Columbia, visit: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/housing/

For more information about B.C. legislation, visit: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/Legislation