City Council got its first look at how Vancouver could build more housing uniformly across the city by adding missing middle housing to all low-density neighbourhoods (RS).

Missing middle translates to multiplexes of three or four units and up to three storeys on smaller lots, as well as a maximum of six units on larger lots (50ft-plus). Staff are also looking at including below-market homes in the plan.

City Planning staff rolled out their new vision, “Adding Missing Middle Housing and Simplifying Regulations in Low Density Neighbourhoods” at Wednesday’s Council Meeting. While the plan must still go through public engagement (beginning in February), refinement, a public hearing followed by a vote by Council, it is expected to be implemented by 2024. The Planning department is taking its cue from at least two earlier plans: former Mayor Kennedy Stewart’s “Making Home,” which Council approved in January of 2022, and the overarching Vancouver Plan, which envisions heavy densification throughout the city over the next 30 years. There is also pressure from BC’s new premier for all municipalities to meet his housing supply quotas.

Staff’s new plan aims to simplify building regulations in all residential zones (with the exception of Shaughnessy) which they say will reduce processing time, and give developers more certainty. The intention is to collapse the various RS neighbourhoods into only one or two residential zones.  As Senior Planner Paula Huber said, “We are not using our land efficiently or effectively. We can’t have 20-foot lawns anymore.”

Huber admitted the plan will have “side effects.” Green space will be lost: grass, on-site trees and shrubs and older trees in front and backyards. Construction could also lead to damaged root systems of 100-year-old boulevard trees. Cllr. Mike Klassen asked if staff had looked at ways of increasing soil permeability and capturing rainwater. Engineering Manager Lon LaClaire replied that his department is always looking at ways to increase permeability and said a report on the City’s rainwater management will be presented to Council on Feb. 1.

Another “side effect” of the plan is that on-site car parking would not be permitted, leaving owners and renters to scramble for limited street parking. While this could prove problematic for EV charging access, staff say they are working on a solution.

The plan received mostly positive feedback from Council. Cllr. Christine Boyle said she was “excited” about the added density but faulted the plan for not going far enough. Density for each lot would increase to 1.0 FSR/FAR (meaning the total floor area on a property could reach the same square footage of the entire lot upon which it is built). Donny Wong of Engineering said increasing density further would strain Vancouver’s aging sewer system. Upgrading the sewers at this time, he said, would be cost-prohibitive.

Mayor Ken Sim praised staff for their “great work,” and asked Planning Head Theresa O’Donnell how Council could support staff to speed up the process. O’Donnell said staff has “lots of support” from Council, but was less certain about public opinion. “We want to put it [the proposed changes to density] out there and let it marinade [with the public],” she said, tentatively.

Huber told Council that Staff have already met with developers, and “the industry supports the plan.” The fate of renters already living in the hundreds of secondary suites spread across the RS zones and paying some of the most affordable rents in the city was not discussed.

Builder Avi Barzelai of East Van Homes was generally positive about the plan but had reservations: “It is a well thought out and carefully constructed plan that would have been great if done 5 years ago. At this point, it’s too little too late. A bolder approach would be to add an extra unit or two per 33’ lot. I’ll take what I can get though,” he pronounced on Twitter.

Cllr. Rebecca Bligh asked what the potential land lift (the difference between the value of the land under the current zoning and the value of the land after rezoning) would have on housing prices. Staff said they are looking at factoring in Density Bonus Contributions (a zoning tool that permits developers to build additional floor area in exchange for amenities and affordable housing needed by the community) to offset land-lift, which, as we have seen in Vancouver, continues to raise the overall price of housing. Planning’s Grace Jiang said property owners facing property tax hikes would be able to apply for a lower tax rate if they have lived in their home for 10 years or more. This would apply to those owners “not ready to redevelop,” she said.

Under section 19.8 of the BC Assessment Act, residential land can be assessed at less than market value in some circumstances, but it is not guaranteed.

Staff said adding the elusive “middle missing” housing, a term used to describe a residential building that contains multiple housing units — somewhere between a single-family detached home and a mid-rise apartment building — will ease the housing crisis. This type of mid-size housing, they say, has long been neglected and will fill the gap for those hoping to own their own home, and for families looking for more appropriate ground-oriented rental units. Each missing middle unit is estimated to cost at least $1.1 million; still steep, but less than a single-family home.

While UKRA welcomes the idea of more missing middle in low-rise buildings as opposed to towers, it would be foolish not to see this as the beginning of a more densified city being planned for all neighbourhoods over the next 30 years. This is what the Vancouver Plan anticipates, but does it reflect what neighbourhoods would like to see?

The fact that the development industry has led the way on the missing middle plan before neighbourhood consultation has taken place is deeply concerning.

Other concerns:

• The plan encourages the demolition of pre-1940 and older character homes;
• Losing trees though construction is not a “side effect,” as planners would have us believe. Trees give life, retain water in the soil, and provide shade—all essential to alleviating climate changes;
• Where will the thousands of renters living in secondary suites in the targeted RS areas go?
• The new units would not be affordable to the average citizen;
• No on-site parking could create chaos on narrow side streets. It will also make EV charging access problematic;
• Greater densification as proposed would further overextend utilities that are already in need of upgrading, particularly sewer and electrical. Many parts of the city are already in urgent need of new schools, daycare, doctors, medical services, and parks and recreation spaces. This latest plan doesn’t account for these needs nor how they would be paid for;
• The plan needs built-in protection to prevent REITS and speculators/money launderers from buying up units.   

Above drawing: City of Vancouver.