Last Tuesday, Premier David Eby said it was important for opposition parties to have the opportunity to debate its divisive new Housing Bills that would override all municipal land use plans. The Bills would legalize small-scale multi-unit housing (4-6) on single-family lots with no required on-site parking, up-zone housing density in residential areas, incentivize towers near transit stations, and turn Vancouver into a transit-oriented city. But the hammer came down at 3:30 pm on Thursday, with Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon declaring “closure,” ending debate in the legislature.  

Opposition members said the housing bills were forced through with almost no discussion. Some MLAs said there was no attempt to reach consensus and criticized Eby for dictating how these provincial plans will be implemented in municipalities. Many government officials, for instance, agree with Eby’s densification plans but wonder where the money will come from to fund the infrastructure to support it.

Provincial Green party leader Sonia Furstenau said on an X post that she was on the brink of tears after learning discussions on the Bills had been shut down. “The question comes down to do we have a functioning parliamentary democracy in BC?” she said, while denouncing the plans for “significantly undermining the capacity of local communities to determine the shape of their communities.” See this story in The Orca for further comments by Furstenau.  

Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) president Trish Mandewo called out the provincial government in a Dec. 1 X post for its opaque process, lack of consultation prior to discussing housing & encampment bills. “Spoke w/several BC mayors. None could obtain injunction to move ppl [people] from encampments under Bill 45 as is. All want more consultation before legislation is introduced & to genuinely partner w [with] province on lg [long]-term solutions: more housing, mental health & addiction services.”

According to the UBCM, Bill 45 will constrain the ability of municipalities to respond to homeless encampments because it puts the onus on cities and towns to ensure that

alternative place to go such as a staffed shelter with a bed and a meal provided at the shelter or nearby.

“No municipality in British Columbia has sufficient shelter space for their growing homeless populations,” it said. “The inability of the province to create adequate shelters has a direct bearing on whether a court will be able to grant an injunction for decampment,” said the UBCM in a Dec. 2 statement.

The UBCM has called on the Province to withdraw the legislation and instead “work with local governments on solutions aimed immediate and sufficient housing to provide unhoused people.”

Now that the Bills have passed, municipalities will have until June 30, 2024, to amend their zoning bylaws in accordance with the requirements. The BC government estimates that as a result of their housing plan, upwards of 130,000 new small-scale multi-unit homes will be built over the next ten years. But the $64,000 question remains: how many, if any, of these units will be affordable to average wage earners?

Many residents living in detached homes in neighbourhoods like ours are worried that the current climate for multiplexes will push them out of their homes, that the up-zoning of properties could unleash a significant property tax increase due to BC Assessment’s principle of “highest and best use” (a property’s highest and best use is the most probable use of a property that would return the highest value, considering legal, economic, and social factors).

See this story in the Vancouver Sun by Katie Rosa about unintended tax consequences of up-zoning land.

Residents who have lived in their homes for 10 years or more may apply to BC Assessment to be considered for exemption from the potential property tax increases. For more information, call BC Assessment at 1-866-825-8322 or visit their website.