City of Vancouver Approves New Rental Only Zoning

The city of Vancouver has been especially busy this month. Just last week the city announced the empty homes tax had generated $39.4 million in revenue during the 2018 tax year, which helped increase the overall number of tenanted properties by 7%. The nearly $40M in additional tax revenues to city coffers could swell further. Just a few days ago the city also proposed an 8.2% property tax increase for residential homes in 2020. If council passes the city budget as proposed, it would mean an estimated increase of $354 for the City of Vancouver’s portion of the property tax bill on the median single-family home, from $3,809 to $4,163. It would be the largest increase in more than a decade.

A special meeting is scheduled on Dec. 3 for members of the public to speak to council about the budget. On a more positive note, the city announced today it has approved a series of recommendations that will enable rental apartments to be developed faster, and in more areas of the city. Approved measures include rental-only zoning, allowing up to six storeys in commercial zones, and a new family-friendly housing pilot program for four to six storey buildings close to schools, parks and shops. The City will implement rental only zoning for the first time, allowing six-storey rental buildings in commercial districts not already covered by community plans. Additionally, rental development in these areas will no longer be required to go through a rezoning process, so it will create a more streamlined and predictable process for developers and communities.  Rental zoning allowing six-storey rental buildings are in red below (C-2 zoning).

The zones run predominantly along parts of Kingsway, Fraser, Main and include pockets at West 41^st Avenue and Arbutus Street, sections of Dunbar Street and areas of West Fourth and West 10^th avenues. In summary this will help streamline and shorten the time it takes to get rental building permits approved. It could potentially shorten the process by a full year. It should also provide a small boost to land values in these new rental only areas.