Vancouver considers changes to multiplex policy, citing community concern

A move the mayor once touted as 'bold action' on the housing crisis might be walked back as an election nears and backlash grows.

Changes could be coming to Vancouver’s multiplex policy, three years after it was adopted.

The motion will be introduced Wednesday by ABC councillors Peter Meiszner and Lenny Zhou.

If passed, it asks staff to review the city’s multiplex guidelines and zoning regulations, “to assess whether refinements are warranted to improve built-form outcomes and neighbourhood fit.”

Meiszner told CTV News he’s bringing the motion forward in response to community feedback.

“While many residents have welcomed having more housing options in their neighborhoods that are more family friendly and affordable, we’ve also heard some concerns around things like building scale, massing, setbacks, tree retention and the design of some of these multiplexes,” he said.

Meiszner added he wants to ensure that regardless of any future changes, the policy is balanced.

“Key for me is ensuring that any changes or guidelines that we bring into place, don’t slow down the delivery of the housing,” he said.

“So, trying to find that balance between regulation and also ensuring that we’re just not letting builders do whatever they want.”

‘Bold action’

In 2023, city council approved the development of multiplexes which allow for up to six condo units, or up to eight secured rental units on larger lots that were previously reserved for single-family homes or duplexes only.

At the time, Mayor Ken Sim referred to it as, “bold action on the housing crisis.”

https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/vancouver-reforms-sf-neighbourhoods.aspx

That same year, the province passed a law mandating municipal governments in B.C. to allow multi-family dwellings on single family lots.

The City of Vancouver said between November 2023 and mid-April of this year, it has received more than 600 applications and approved 284 projects.

Petition opposing plan

Marisa Thomas, a Vancouver resident, and one of the backers of a petition that’s garnered over 2,400 signatures against the plan, said she wants the city to revise the multiplex guidelines.

“They’re having a real detrimental effect on neighbours, and also on our tree canopy and livability,” she said.

Thomas said she’d like to see more regulations on what can be built, including on things like “setbacks, basements, tapering of roofs, and appreciating privacy of neighbours,” adding that, “right now, these huge buildings really block any sunlight or privacy to the neighboring homes.”

If Vancouver changes course on the policy, it wouldn’t be the first municipality to do so.

Last fall, following public backlash, Burnaby city council approved bylaw amendments to reduce the size of multiplexes.

Industry cautions council

Akua Schatz, a partner with Smallworks Ltd., a company that specializes in infill housing said, she believes the changes aren’t necessary.

Schatz said the opposition to changes like these tends to follow a similar pattern.

“We saw it again with laneway homes, where there was the same sort of response against pricing, shading, and privacy,” she said.

“All of these things came into play back then as well, and you no longer hear those kinds of responses. So, part of it is the natural cycle of seeing neighborhoods change.”

Schatz also cautions clamping down on the current policy.

“We actually found once you constrain designs, once you constrain the regulations, then you actually end up with more costly builds,” she said.

“The price-per-square foot for these types of elements go up because you start to remove the flexibility of being able to design something that is more affordable or attainable.”