The City of Burnaby’s planning department has released a report on the upcoming zoning changes to accommodate the Province’s mandated Small Scale Multi Unit Housing (SSMUH) under Bill 44, passed in December 2023.

Bill 44 requires municipal governments to permit the following minimum number of housing units in land use zones that are otherwise restricted to single family dwellings or duplexes:

• 3 units on lots that are up to 3,014 SF;
• 4 units on lots that are greater than 3,014 SF; and
• 6 units on lots that are at least 3,025 SF & within 400 m of bus stops with frequent service.

The City’s proposed approach is to repeal all of the existing single family residential zones (R7 Mobile Home Park District and R1, R1a, R2, R2a, R3, R3a, R4, R4a, R5, R5a, R6, R8, R9, R9a, R10, R11, R12, and R12s) and replacing them with a single R1 SSMUH District.

The City is required to pass the zoning bylaw update by June 30, 2024.

There are currently 30,662 single family zoned lots in the City of Burnaby.

Details of Proposed R1 SSMUH Zoning

The following zoning provisions are proposed as part of a new Section 101, R1 Small Scale Multi-Unit Housing District, within the Zoning Bylaw:

• Uses:
  o Up to 6 dwelling units on a lot, depending on the lot size and proximity to a bus stop
  with frequent service
  o Rowhouses, which would permit up to 3 dwelling units on a lot
  o Boarding, lodging, or rooming house, subject to Comprehensive
  
• Subdivision:
  o For rowhouse dwellings, require a minimum lot width of 16 ft to 26 ft
  o For SSMUH subdivisions, require a minimum lot width of 33 ft
  o Subdivision to create panhandle lots will continue to be restricted, with
  individual consideration of irregular shaped lots to be determined by
  the Approving Officer.

• Number of Units:
  • 3 units on lots that are up to 3,014 SF;
  • 4 units on lots that are greater than 3,014 SF; and
  • 6 units on lots that are at least 3,025 SF & within 400 m of bus stops with frequent service.

• Lot Coverage:
  o 40% for 1 to 3 SSMUH dwelling units
  o 45% for 4 SSMUH dwelling units
  o 50% for 5 to 6 SSMUH dwelling units
  o 55% for rowhouse dwellings

• Parking

• Minimum 0.5 parking stalls per unit outside of lots within 400m Frequent Transit Network
• No parking minimums for lots within 400m Frequent Transit Network

Other

• Does not regulate tenure – can be either strata or rental
• Minimum of one 3-bedroom unit for lots with 1 to 3 units
• Minimum of two 3-bedroom units for lots with 4-6 units
• allows fee-simple rowhouses
• 70% maximum impervious surface requirement to support more lot area for stormwater management, tree retention, and outdoor amenity space for residents
• Building heights up to a maximum of 40 ft and 4 storeys, inclusive of any basement or cellar storey
• Reduced yard setbacks for buildings and introduce the concept of “street yards” to provide consistent setbacks from all property lines adjacent to streets
• Minimum separation of 8 ft between principal buildings and/or accessory buildings and a minimum separation of 20 ft between front and rear principal buildings on the same lot
• Minimum of 107 SF of outdoor amenity space for the exclusive use of each primary dwelling unit on a lot
• Heritage provisions that provide more flexibility in siting and massing of buildings for lots on the Community Heritage Register to support retention of heritage assets

The full council report can be viewed here: https://pub-burnaby.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=75285

The proposed R1 SSMUH zoning guidelines can be viewed here: https://pub-burnaby.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=75286

The City of Burnaby is seeking Council approval on draft Development Cost Charge (DCC) and Amenity Cost Charge (“ACC”) rates, the latter of which is a new charge being developed by each municipality in Metro Vancouver as a result of new Provincial legislation.

Through Bill 46 – Housing Statutes (Development Financing) Amendment Act, 2023, the Province introduced a new tool, ACCs, to help local governments finance services and amenities through development.

Concurrent with updating their OCP, Burnaby will be re-writing their zoning bylaws to comply with and respond to the recent changes in Provincial legislation, including interim updates to meet the June 30, 2024 deadline for the City to: (1) amend the Zoning Bylaw to permit Small Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH) on lots currently zoned for single and two family housing; and (2) designate all Transit Oriented Areas (TOAs) within Burnaby that are subject to the minimum TOA density and height requirements prescribed by the Province.

ACCs can be used to collect funds for growth-related facilities or features that provide social, cultural, heritage, recreational or environmental benefits to a community. These include, but are not limited to, recreation and community centres, libraries, and childcare facilities.

If Council agrees with the proposed DCC and ACC rates as outlined above, then staff will move forward accordingly; bringing forward a future report with the final recommended DCC and ACC rates for approval at the March 25 Council meeting.

Staff will then forward the DCC Bylaw to the Provincial Inspector of Municipalities for approval. Approval of the Inspector is required for the DCC Bylaw but is not required for the ACC bylaw. The Inspector’s office has indicated that their DCC review process currently takes between 8 to 10 weeks.

Once the City receives Inspector approval of the DCC Bylaw, the DCC Bylaw and ACC Bylaw will be advanced for Final Adoption. The goal is for both the new DCC bylaw and ACC bylaw to be in place before the June 30, 2024 deadline.

If you’re an owner of a property within a Transit Oriented Area (TOA) and are interested in learning more about the ACC rates and their attendant impact on property values, please reach out to us.

Thind Properties has submitted a rezoning application to convert the office component of their newly constructed ‘Highline’ project from office space to hotel.

Highline’s construction was completed in late 2023 and includes a 48-storey, 336-unit condo building with 10 floors of office space at the base of the tower.

The proposal is to convert the 10-storeys of office space to a hotel with 159 hotel units, and a ground-level hotel lobby. To achieve a generously sized hotel lobby, two of the three existing ground-level retail units are proposed to be consolidated with the existing commercial lobby with a hotel lounge, concierge, business centre, and liquor primary lobby bar establishment. The remaining commercial retail unit, at the corner of Beresford and the lane, is proposed to be a liquor primary pub or food primary restaurant which can work in partnership with the hotel operator to provide food and liquor services to hotel guests and patrons.

An amendment to the Metrotown Downtown Plan is proposed to facilitate the hotel uses under the C2 zoning.