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Housing planning for local governments

Last updated on November 8, 2023

Local governments are empowered to use planning and development tools to implement housing policies and influence the location and type of housing built in their communities. For example, a local government could zone land near transit and service hubs for more dense forms of housing such as condos or townhouses.

Official community plans

Local government official community plans must include statements and map designations for the residential development required to meet anticipated housing needs for at least the next five years.

Local governments can also include policies that address their community's social needs and well-being, which are often linked to housing affordability and accessibility.

To help guide the housing policies in their official community plans local governments are required to develop housing needs reports on a regular basis. Many local governments also develop housing strategies or action plans to outline how they will respond to their community's unique housing needs. Zoning bylaws are key to helping local governments implement their housing policies and strategies.

Development finance and approvals

Local governments have a number of development finance tools available to them to support the development of new housing in their communities. These tools include:

To ensure needed new housing reaches the market efficiently, local governments can review their development approval processes and look to each other for guidance on effective streamlining practices.

Affordability

Local governments play a key role in supporting affordable housing in B.C. and have several tools and resources available to them including policies included in official community plans, zoning, development cost charge and property tax exemptions, and party wall agreements for row housing.

Official community plan affordability policies

An official community plan must include policies about:

  • Affordable housing
  • Rental housing
  • Special needs housing

Learn more about the content and process requirements:

Zoning

Through their zoning bylaws, local governments can encourage the development of affordable and special needs housing. For example, they could allow secondary suites or garden suites as a permitted use.

They can also grant bonus density in exchange for the provision of a certain number, kind and extent of affordable and special needs housing units included in the development.

Development cost charge exemptions, waivers and reductions

Specific types of property development are exempt from development cost charges including certain types of affordable housing and low environmental impact developments. Local governments can also choose to waive or reduce development cost charges for certain types of developments including:

  • Not-for-profit rental housing, including supportive living housing
  • For-profit affordable rental housing

Learn more about development for which charges may be exempted, waived or reduced:

Property tax exemptions

Municipalities have the authority to exempt property from property value taxes. This authority can be used to help achieve housing objectives, such as encouraging affordable housing or constructing and preserving affordable rental housing.

Party wall agreements for freehold row housing

The B.C. government has taken action to remove barriers to freehold row housing through binding party wall (shared wall) agreements.

Local government housing affordability guidance and resources

Local governments play a key role in supporting affordable housing in B.C.. All sizes of local governments are using an array of tools including regional growth strategies, housing action plans, and zoning to support housing affordability. 

Accessibility

Local governments can incorporate accessibility provisions into their official community plans, as discussed in the Age-Friendly and Disability-Friendly Official Community Plans Guide.

Sustainability & Resilience

Local governments are encouraged to strive for the following characteristics in shaping their communities as sustainable, resilient places:

Climate change mitigation and adaptation are closely connected to land use planning processes and are key to supporting community sustainability and resilience.