In December, Vancouver City Council approved a suite of actions focused on “supporting development viability and unlocking new housing supply” during a time when it has been challenging for developers to move forward with projects due to market conditions.
The first item listed in the staff report outlining the suite of actions was the creation of a new Rental Development Relief Program, but staff said they would also “continue advancing targeted policy, process, and regulatory initiatives to improve project feasibility, sustain housing supply, and support affordability” with initiatives outside of that suite of actions.
One of the initiatives they teased was “Streamlining Rental Opportunities in C-2 Zones” and staff have now returned with full details and a proposal to create a new simplified C-2A mixed-use zoning district schedule that would:
- In certain community plan areas where a rezoning is currently required, allow 6-storey, mixed-use building where 100% of the residential tenure is secured as rental.
- Allow for 6-storey hotel use.
- Allow up to eight storeys in TOAs.
- Simplify and modernize low-rise mixed-use regulations.
Additionally, the City has proposed that 2,348 parcels — a vast majority (88%), but not all parcels — currently zoned C-2, C-2B, C-2C, and C-2C1 be rezoned into this new C-2A zone, removing the need for site-specific rezonings and allowing developers to proceed directly to the development application stage. The City has previously taken this “prezoning” approach with social housing and portions of the Broadway Corridor.
According to a map provided by staff, most of the parcels to be rezoned are located in east Vancouver, and specifically along Main Street, Fraser Street, Victoria Drive, and Kingsway, although there are some within the Broadway Corridor as well.
All highlighted sites would be rezoned to C-2A.
“The proposed C-2A district schedule would continue to allow the same scale and type of rental housing currently allowed in the C-2, C-2B, C-2C and C-2C1 districts, and would extend those provisions to additional areas where this form was previously not permitted, but allowed through rezoning,” said staff.
On allowing six-storey hotel use, staff said rezoning applications for hotels can currently be considered in the aforementioned zones, but that “the added cost and uncertainty of undertaking a rezoning increases the risks for smaller hotels and reduces their viability” and that prezoning will provide a standardized path.
As for allowing up to eight storeys in transit-oriented areas (TOAs), staff said this was to comply and align with the Province’s TOA legislation and note that only sites that are Tier 3 (400 to 800 m from SkyTrain stations) and Tier 5 (200 to 400 m from Bus Exchanges) are included in the proposed rezoning.
On the final point of simplifying low-rise mixed-use regulations, staff are proposing that the new C-2A zoning district schedule maintain maximum densities, but provide a more generous maximum building height, saying this would “accommodate a greater range of design approaches, [and] provide flexibility to address different site conditions, such as sites that are sloped, irregularly shaped, or larger than standard.”
The City says they informed the owners of the 2,348 parcels of the City-initiated rezoning back in December. For in-stream applications on sites currently zoned C-2, C-2B, C-2C, or C-2C1 that are set to be rezoned to C-2A, the City says developers will be able to apply to develop under the new C-2A regulations with a new development application.
On Tuesday, Vancouver City Council approved the recommendation to refer the aforementioned proposal to a future public hearing.
