The District of Lantzville is not interested in implementing provincial housing density changes unless required to do so.
Last fall, the province passed several housing-related bills to amend municipal zoning bylaws, which according to a staff report serve to “amend restrictive zoning bylaws that have resulted in a prevalence of single-family dwellings that are no longer financially attainable for many B.C. residents.”
One of these bills outlines minimum density requirements, mandating three to four units on lots zoned for single-family dwellings.
“I have no interest in seeing three-storey houses on every lot in Lantzville. If our legal team says otherwise we can discuss it then,” said Coun. Jonathan Lerner during a committee of the whole meeting April 17. “My concerns are with going from eight-metre height to 11-metre height, two-storey to three-storey on basically every lot that has sewer and water. A requirement to have setbacks that are just a couple metres from the road, maybe less.”
In response, Lerner introduced a recommendation for a bylaw to instruct staff “to maintain existing Lantzville site standards, such as height, parcel coverage and setback requirements.”
READ MORE: B.C. government cuts debate short, passes major new housing bill
Coun. Ian Savage and Joan Jones agreed with Lerner’s interpretation of it as optional.
“I would like that legal opinion in writing when it comes because reading through here I am also seeing the same words that these are ‘recommended,’” Jones added.
Staff advised council that they have received legal opinion that told them it was a requirement, but said further legal guidance could be obtained.
The bylaw received its first reading at a meeting Wednesday, April 24.
“This is simply that it has come down to a matter of opinion what the policy manual says,” Savage said. “So I would like to keep it that council will have the final say and if they feel for this the policy manual gives us leeway, that’ll be our decision.”
George Robinson, director of planning and community services, replied that he has reached out to Lidstone and Company Law Corporation for legal advice and that the response would be added to the agenda at an upcoming in-camera meeting.
“I would really caution, the advice administration as been given from ministry, from legal, from other municipalities, is that if we are not going to go with the site standards that are laid out in the manual very explicitly, that we have to provide very intense justification for it,” he said. “I would encourage not striking this piece for now until council receives legal advice.”
The amendment passed 3-2 with Mayor Mark Swain and Coun. Rachelle Mundell voting against. Both dissenting councillors expressed that they wanted to wait for legal advice before moving forward.
“I’m going to rely on staff’s expertise here and their due diligence in this whole process, and basically we’ll entertain the legal opinion when it comes, but in the meantime I won’t support this amendment,” Swain said.
Council has until the end of June to implement the required zoning changes or the province will intervene, issuing a 30-day letter of compliance, then overriding the municipality’s zoning bylaw.
Another housing-related piece of provincial legislation around transit-oriented development was less controversial among council. The legislation sets minimum allowable densities within prescribed distances from transit exchanges.
The only transit station applicable to Lantzville is Woodgrove Centre’s RDN Transit exchange, which is considered temporary.
Robinson told council on April 17 that staff was instructed by the province to temporarily pass a relevant bylaw for it, then repeal it if Woodgrove’s transit exchange is moved farther from Lantzville jurisdictional boundaries. Work to re-locate the exchange isn’t expected to be completed until October at the earliest.