Pro-active planning

Housing Needs Reports, Official Community Plans, zoning bylaws, and public hearings

B.C. is shifting to a more pro-active, long-term approach to planning, where local governments identify their housing needs, and then zone for what is needed. New requirements include:

1. All local governments

Update Housing Needs Reports using a standard method on a regular basis for a more consistent, robust understanding of local housing needs over 20 years. Interim Housing Needs Reports must be completed by January 1, 2025.

2. Municipalities

Plan for these needs in Official Community Plans on a regular basis. Municipalities must have completed their first review and update of their Official Community Plans based on the interim Housing Needs Report by December 31, 2025.

3. Municipalities

Align zoning bylaws with the Official Community Plans and Housing Needs Report to pre-zone for the total amount of housing their communities need on a regular basis. Municipalities must have completed their first update of their zoning bylaws to align with their Official Community Plans by December 31, 2025.

Housing Needs Reports

Housing Needs Reports (HNRs) describe current and anticipated housing needs. The first set of HNRs were required of local governments by April 2022 to help better understand and quantify current and anticipated housing needs.

Building on existing requirements, all local governments must update their HNR to include a more consistent, robust understanding of both local housing needs currently and over the next 20 years.

Official Community Plans

Official Community Plans (OCPs) establish the long-term vision of communities and outline the objectives and policies to guide local planning and land use decisions to achieve this vision. Among other requirements, OCPs must identify areas for residential development to meet anticipated housing needs for at least the next 20 years. It must also include policies for affordable housing, rental housing, and special needs housing.

The changes will strengthen pro-active planning for housing by requiring municipalities to align OCPs with HNRs. Municipalities must review and update OCPs, every five years with public engagement to plan for enough homes for forecasted growth over the next 20 years (rather than five) and include policies that address a wider range of housing types (e.g., affordable housing, rental housing, housing for families, etc.)

Zoning bylaws 

Zoning bylaws regulate the use, density, tenure and other aspects of land, buildings, and other structures (including in relation to housing).

The changes require municipalities to align zoning bylaws with their OCPs and HNRs, on a regular basis, including updating zoning bylaws to permit the use and density to accommodate the total number of housing units needed over at least the next 20 years.

Public hearings

Currently, rezoning processes, including public hearings, for stand-alone housing projects are creating lengthy delays and adding costs. ​In many cases the housing being discussed is supported or encouraged in the OCP.

To speed up the building of homes for people and support pro-active planning, one-off, site-by-site public hearings for rezonings have been phased out for housing projects that are consistent with OCPs (which already have a public hearing).  

There will instead be more frequent opportunities for people to be involved in shaping their communities earlier in the process, when OCPs are updated. These opportunities, including a public hearing, provide for more meaningful engagement opportunities for a greater number of community members to participate.

Public hearings will continue to be required whenever local governments update or develop new OCPs or consider rezonings for projects that are not consistent with the OCP.

People will also still be able to engage with their local elected officials about housing projects through other channels and forums.

Local governments will continue to approve development permits and building permits for small-scale, multi-unit housing and rezoning applications that are beyond small-scale, multi-unit housing requirements and zoning bylaws.

Timeline  

• Early 2024: Housing Needs Report guidance provided to local governments 
• June/July 2024: Guidance provided to municipalities to update Official Community Plans and zoning bylaws 
• January 1, 2025: Local governments must have completed their interim Housing Needs Report
• December 31, 2025: Municipalities must have completed their first review and update of their Official Community Plans and zoning bylaws (based on the interim Housing Needs Report)