MLA Susie Chant’s Office Answers Questions About SSMUH
Editor’s Note: This article was written for the June issue of the Blueridge Bulletin. It is archived here as part of our coverage of the SSMUH issue. Our documents about that topic are all archived here.
Small Scale Multi-Unit Housing: Common Questions
The Office Of MLA Susie Chant
Last month, your Bulletin editor published a very detailed and informative piece about the upcoming Small Scale Multi-Unit Housing Zoning (SSMUH) coming to Blueridge, and across the province. There is not a lot to add to that, but we are grateful to have received some comments and concerns from folks that this article will attempt to address. The DNV is not introducing their SSMUH zoning bylaw until June, so the final bylaw is still unknown, but we will respond to some options for the bylaw based on proposals the DNV has released. This article is templated in an “FAQ” style to hopefully make it easier to read and find what you are interested in.
As always, this article is not an exhaustive response to everything but should provide some more information for people. If you have further questions or concerns on this subject, I encourage you to please reach out to our office at Susie.Chant.mla@leg.bc.ca
The DNV has created a map of areas that may be exempt from the SSMUH, as well as areas that will be challenging to accommodate density. Will these zones be honoured? Can they be overruled?
All of Blueridge falls under either “exempt” or “challenging” zones. These zones are created by the DNV based on the data and information they have available. The only provincial requirement on this is that the zones are not unreasonable. Zones that are challenging may be subject to a delay before SSMUH zoning comes into effect to allow the DNV to get services updated to accommodate density or allow for less density than 4 units per lot. One proposal by the DNV includes allowing “challenging” lots to have secondary suites and coach houses still. Exemptions are based on natural hazards, like slopes and rivers, that make increased density not feasible. We will honour these zones, and should hazards or conditions change, the DNV has made it clear they will review and update these zones. Our government will not be overruling these zones, as we trust the DNV to act in good faith based on their local knowledge. Zones can be hyper-localized or broader, so if a neighbourhood or block of houses goes through risk mitigation work that meets the municipal standards to negate hazards, the DNV could rewrite the exemption zone. This will not be something handled by the provincial government.
This zoning and the associated bills reduce municipal powers to get money for infrastructure and amenity improvements necessary for growth. How will these things be paid for?
Bill 46 creates the Development Cost Charge (DCC), which can be considered an upfront community amenity contribution (CAC). DCCs allow for better transparency and cost determinations for developers and will help cover infrastructure costs for developments in areas that fall under SSMUH or Transit-Oriented zoning. This bill was created after consultation and feedback from municipal officials to respond to this exact concern. This change also allows municipal governments more flexibility in how they allocate the revenues collected, as DCCs can be used for services like fire protection, waste facilities, and highway on/off ramps. Before these changes, CACs could not be used on these types of services. It should also be noted that the DNV can waive DCCs, or portions of, for building affordable housing. If there are shortfalls that any municipality faces in achieving the needed infrastructure for development, our government will be there to help. North Shore municipalities have already received over $30 million in the last year to help improve infrastructure and capacity, and this is something we will continue to be ready to assist on.
Will these changes remove municipal powers, making our government less responsive to their citizens due to the inability to hold public meetings regarding developments that are in line with an OCP?
The changes will mean that public input on the official community planning process will become more important, and these opportunities will now occur in all municipalities on a more regular basis. This will also help connect public input to the big-picture planning process for each community, which will be based on an expert assessment of local housing needs.
People will continue to have opportunities to provide input on their neighbourhood’s housing projects to city staff directly. Local governments will need to issue a notice early in the approvals process for a housing project. In many communities, we already see good systems for sharing information and helping residents track projects through the process. But overall, these changes are meant to move away from the current process, which has slowed down needed housing approvals.
Transit-oriented area zoning (TOAs) seem to be very general and do not consider local contexts; will this cause issues in areas around Phibbs Exchange and CapU bus loop?
Short answer: no. The TOAs that have been making the rounds on social media are only from the policy manual. In the end, the DNV will have final say on what the zoning looks like and can exempt areas that are hazard zones, industrial use, parks, heritage zones, or agricultural land, amongst a few other exemptions. The policy manual only sets out the areas that the DNV does have to provide zoning or explain exemptions for. This allows DNV local knowledge to make sure that the zoning still makes sense.
There is nothing in SSMUH or TOA zoning legislation that specifically focuses on affordable housing. How will this make housing more affordable?
SSMUH is not intended to provide below-market housing, but to allow for more flexible housing options that can improve supply and improve affordability. This is just one piece of the large puzzle that is our housing market and will be supported by continued significant government investments in social and affordable housing. Where SSMUH may have the largest impact is in its potential for creating multigenerational housing for families to live together. This flexibility can address both supply and demand in housing, providing an affordable option for seniors to age in home with their family while providing families a space to grow and play together. When Auckland, New Zealand, implemented similar zoning changes, rents did fall over the course of 5 years due to the new supply and flexibility of housing.
The other answer to this is that Development Cost Charges, which will apply to SSMUH and TOA zoning, can be waived in part or in full for affordable development. This will allow for developers to still provide affordable units in new developments. This allowance, plus our government’s commitment to provide funding for affordable housing through many different programs and grants, will combine to work and create affordable housing faster in communities that need it most.
Will my property taxes go up because of these changes?
Because the SSMUH zoning is applied across the province in every municipality, we do not expect this change to dramatically increase home values in North Vancouver, especially since the density increase is very small. For homes that are in exemption zones, due to hazards, we do not expect those home values to drop either. People still want single-family homes, and we are not going to see a rush of developers trying to buy up neighbourhoods to build duplexes or triplexes. The change to North Vancouver’s neighbourhood landscape is expected to be very minimal, and the change to Blueridge is expected to be even less, just due to neighbourhood character, including a lack of nearby transit and amenities. The July 1st property tax assessment date, with the June 30th deadline, also gives our province a year to monitor changes in property value and determine if supports or other steps are needed since there should be no changes reflected in this year’s valuation.
If you have concerns about your property potentially spiking in value, BC Assessment has a section 19(8) form that can be filed for residents who have lived in their home for 10 or more years. You can fill out the form anytime between now and the end of November, and it will be considered for your assessment next year, to assess at a lower value. You can find the form here, and you can reach out to our office for assistance in filling it out.
The time frame for municipalities to rezone and make the needed legal changes is incredibly tight. Why are the deadlines so short?
The DNV was given months to plan and prepare for these changes. These changes do not require any new data or information, but we have also provided an option for municipalities to seek delays to the implementation of SSMUH zoning should there be challenges or issues in a particular neighbourhood. We have also provided municipal governments with money to improve their capacity to manage all these new legislative requirements. The DNV got over $500,000 in funding for this, with money going to improve staffing and allocate resources to meet these deadlines.