Province had threatened to pass bylaws itself after municipality had earlier rejected multiplex developments
The District of West Vancouver has passed bylaws that pave the way for multi-unit housing on single-family lots in the city.
The decision from the district's council on Monday comes after the B.C. government had issued an ultimatum earlier this summer, with the housing minister threatening that the province would pass the rules itself and issue penalties if bylaws were not passed.
B.C. had introduced Bill 44 last November, with the rules asking municipalities to change zoning rules to allow for four-unit buildings on single-family lots and up to six units on lots near transit hubs.
West Vancouver's mayor and many councillors were vehemently opposed to the rules, arguing that the province did not recognize the nature of housing in the area, but a provincial deadline and the ultimatum meant they had to budge.
"This idea that you can design a municipality sitting at a desk in Victoria — it doesn't work," said Mayor Mark Sager in an interview with CBC's The Early Edition Monday. "I mean, we have certain areas in our community where what [the province is] proposing is actually impossible to do, and it isn't going to create new housing."
Sager's municipality had until the end of August to pass the bylaws, after Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon had given them a 30-day non-compliance order in late July.
The mayor said the province had turned down the municipality's requests for an extension, and that he wanted to meet with the minister to show him how the municipality was adding dense housing in areas where it was appropriate.
"Proper planning is the responsibility of the local municipalities," Sager said. "We need to ensure that when we create new housing that we have the proper infrastructure to support it.
"I mean, we're living on the North Shore in complete gridlock every day now ... these things all need to be discussed," he added. "Rather than fighting with [Kahlon] through the media, we'd just like the opportunity to sit down and talk about real solutions."
CBC