Provincial Housing Changes (Bill 44)

Thank you for the question. In most residential zones, 1 off-street parking space is required per suite and 2 spaces are required for the main house. The rules for on-street parking are listed in the traffic bylaw and as posted by the Municipality. These rules have not changed because of the changes to the zoning bylaw. Violations should be reported to bylaw@northcowichan.ca and Bylaw Enforcement staff will follow up.

Every new suite or other dwelling unit must obtain a building permit from the Municipality prior to construction. These units are not registered, but the information about the property is recorded and per-unit services fees, such as the fees for waste collection, apply. The rules regarding taxes due on rental income are established by the Canada Revenue Agency.

The maximum size for the detached accessory dwelling unit is 120m² (see section 40.4 of the zoning bylaw, starting on page 39), but there are a few things to keep in mind that will make the maximum size smaller in many cases:

• You also need to meet the parcel coverage restriction. If you are already close to the maximum parcel coverage (because of the size of your main house relative to the size of the property) you may need to keep the accessory dwelling smaller.   
• The 120m² is for the whole accessory building. For example if you had a workshop on the ground floor and the dwelling above the workshop, the dwelling would end up being smaller than 120m².

You are correct that the R1 zone is considered a restricted zone and the legislation applies whether or not it is within the Urban Containment Boundary (UCB). You are also correct that the legislation requires that the municipality permits either a secondary suite and/or a detached accessory dwelling unit in all restricted zones (including the R1 zone). Municipalities have the choice of whether to permit the required second unit as a secondary suite or a detached accessory dwelling unit, we do not have to permit both. Since our R1 zone already permits a suite (the term used in the bylaw in this zone is a two-family dwelling), it was already compliant with the legislation without need to change the zoning.

For areas within the UCB, 3-4 dwelling units must be permitted per lot (as opposed to the 2 dwellings required in the rural areas) which is why these areas have been treated separately in the zoning bylaw.

Because the legislation required that the zoning to be changed quickly, our approach to implementing the legislation was to generally make the minimum changes necessary to comply. The municipality has started a comprehensive review of the zoning bylaw which will be an opportunity to look at different options such as whether to allow detached ADUs in the R1 zone.  

Yes, depending on the circumstances. 

Inside of the urban containment boundary, newly constructed duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes can be stratified so that each unit can be owned separately. 

The answer is a more complicated for adding additional units to an existing residence or when constructing a detached accessory dwelling unit (a.k.a., garden suite, coach house…). We recommend seeking professional advice (such as from a lawyer or surveyor) to discuss your specific proposal. 

In general, a strata plan (which creates multiple separate titles) must be registered when the units are complete but before they are occupied. If one or more units is already occupied (even if it is in a separate building as it would be for a new detached accessory dwelling unit), then it is considered a strata conversion and a subdivision application (building strata) is required. For a strata conversion to be approved you must meet several requirements including upgrading all units to substantially comply with the current building code – which can be difficult to achieve for older buildings.

All new units, including secondary suites and detached accessory dwelling units (a.k.a., garden suites, coach houses…) are required to pay development cost charges (DCCs). DCCs are collected and pooled to pay for any new infrastructure that is required because of new development. 

The Municipality is currently working on a comprehensive review of our infrastructure taking into consideration the impact of the new legislated density requirements. This review will result an updated list of near- and long-term infrastructure projects and updated DCC rates. 

The Municipality also regularly advocates to senior levels of government and submits grant applications to try to offset costs of infrastructure replacement and upgrades.

Thank you for the question. You are correct, Haida Rd. is within the R3 zone so a fourplex can be constructed on properties in your neighbourhood. The maximum permitted height in the R3 zone has not changed and is still 9.0m, although property owners can request a variance to the zoning rules. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that views will always remain free of development and change.

The change to allow fourplexes is widespread and affects properties throughout British Columbia including thousands of properties in North Cowichan. Since it is not specific to any one neighbourhood, any impact to property values would likely affect most/ all properties in the same way. Many factors can play a part in determining property values, however new housing developments do not generally have a negative impact on the surrounding property values. In 2018, a BC Housing study found that even relatively large-scale non-market housing developments did not have a negative impact on property values for the neighbouring community.

If your property is located within the urban containment boundary, in most cases the answer is yes. For zones that permit 3 or 4 units, the new zoning allows a detached accessory dwelling unit in addition to a single-family dwelling with or without a suite. Please review the draft zoning bylaw to see the regulations that apply (such as how big the accessory unit can be, where it can be located, how much total parcel coverage is allowed…).

That’s totally okay: you do not need to make any changes to your property because of this zoning change. 

Single-family dwellings are still permitted in all the low-density residential zones. If you are building on a new lot or wanting to replace your existing home, you are not required to build additional units; the new regulations simply give you the option to do so. 

With the current zoning changes, detached accessory dwelling units are permitted on almost all residential parcels within the urban containment boundary. Outside of the urban containment boundary many of the agricultural zones already allow a second detached dwelling on properties that are over 2 hectares (5 acres). 

It is mainly the rural residential zones that do not permit a detached accessory dwelling unit. Because our rural residential zones do not need to be changed to comply with the Bill 44 requirements, allowing detached accessory dwelling units in these zones was not included as part of this project. A comprehensive review of the Municipality’s zoning bylaw is underway and this issue will be looked at as part of the comprehensive review project.