Rolling the dice with fourplex zoning
Since the passage last year of the BC ‘Housing Supply Act’, municipalities across the province have been quietly revising zoning bylaws, basically to incorporate the provincial dictum of fourplex zoning. They have been doing so because the province has decreed that this item is non-negotiable, not for debate. This is in stark contrast to the fair and democratic processes (for example, of Official Community Plan formulations) which we have, until now, been accustomed to.
The City of Duncan gave notice of the zoning changes in last week’s Citizen. No doubt North Cowichan and the CVRD will follow suit shortly.
We must remember not to shoot the messenger – this imperialistic measure is not the initiative of the municipalities. It comes from the provincial government and, subsequently, from Ottawa. The carrot is the massive amount of funding which Justin Trudeau is offering, provided the provinces comply with the fourplex decree.
When the Housing Act was unveiled last year, the caution from the Union of BC Municipalities was “a shift towards prescriptive centralized planning comes also with risks and potential unintended consequences.” With this Act, David Eby is essentially implying that municipalities cannot be trusted to increase available housing on their own. In contrast, Ontario Premier Doug Ford must be given credit for showing respect and not bowing to the fourplex mandate: “I have all the confidence in the world in the mayors and councils to put homes where they belong.” Now that is a statement to be respected.
As recently as last autumn, North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas was promoting his plan of gentle densification by encouraging the development of second units and garden suites on residential lots. How appropriate for North Cowichan. And how badly he was blindsided by our premier.
Now, there is a possibility that the fourplex gamble will work out just fine. Perhaps the developers will not be overly greedy and will build structures which are respectful of their neighbours’ quality of life and will demonstrate some taste in design, rather than erecting massive boxes. Perhaps homeowners will not experience a home value drop when a monster structure is erected next door to them. Perhaps.
This is where things reduce down to a ‘roll of the dice’ and that I am not comfortable with.
Peter Ordynec
Chemainus