Nanaimo calls for amendment of upzoning bill
The City of Nanaimo is asking the province to exempt it from a provincial upzoning bill that will allow small-scale multi-unit housing to be built anywhere in the city. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7FM.
On Monday, November 20th Nanaimo City Council unanimously voted in favour of a motion to send a letter to all BC MLAs and the UBCM in support of a draft amendment they would like to see towards the recently announced Bill 44. The bill will allow for small-scale multi-unit housing in the province to be built on land that was originally zoned for single-family homes.
The motion was made by Nanaimo City Councillor Tyler Brown. He said that although there are benefits for more housing in the city, he has concerns about the strain on existing infrastructure.
“We know some areas can't accommodate that type of development,” he said. “That is going to cause an increased tax burden, for unplanned infrastructure projects.”
He worries this means the city will have to rework their Official Community Plan (OCP), which he says accommodates 20 years of housing making sure they are pre-zoned for future infrastructure
“I largely think that's unfair when our OCP has put in a fair amount of thought with respect to transportation, with respect to sewer and water infrastructure, and a whole host of recreation facilities, school sites on and on.”
The suggested amendment would include exemptions for a municipality that can show it planned for 20 years of housing growth.
During a press conference on Nov. 22, Minister of Housing Ravi Kalhon was asked about the Nanaimo council’s letter.
“The reason why small-scale multi-units is becoming more popular move in jurisdictions around the world is that this type of housing actually requires less infrastructure upgrades, because the infrastructure is already there,” he told reporters. “We know for example, Metro Vancouver, did a report recently around small-scale multi-units and highlighted that this is the most effective way to get more housing without additional infrastructure, needing to be put in communities.”
The minister also said that the government created a new financing tool to support local government in capturing money for items such as fire halls and police stations.
Councillor Brown pushed back on Khalon’s response.
“I think there's a lot of very knowledgeable folks that would disagree, and we would welcome the minister to come spend some time with them so we can discuss how we can responsibly implement provincial goals,” he said.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.