Provincial Housing Legislation Updates

At the end of 2023, the BC Government passed new legislation that apply across the province and impact the City of Fort St. John’s land use planning framework. The provincial updates intend to fulfill the Homes for People Action Plan priorities to aggressively close the gap between housing supply and demand in our province. Local Governments were required to update their bylaws by summer 2024 to meet the new provincial requirements.

Despite the generational housing shortage and deteriorating housing affordability, the rate of homebuilding in B.C. has minimally increased since the 1990s. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) estimates 570,000 homes must be built in the province by 2030, double our current pace.

The City of Fort St. John is committed to keeping our neighbourhoods and businesses informed about the Provincial changes. More information on the new provincial amendments, requirements and bills can be found here.

Overview of what's changed

The following table is intended to provide a quick reference to illustrate the new rules and what the City has changed in response to these provincial mandates.

Legislation Changes	What is the change and how has this impacted Fort St. John?
Bill 44: Residential Development	The maximum number of dwelling units in the low-density zones has been changed to 4 dwelling units. The maximum number of residential buildings permitted is now 3 per parcel. With this change to allow up to 4 dwelling units on a single lot there is the potential to see an incremental increase in secondary suites, as well as an increase in detached suites on single-detached and duplex lots.
Bill 46: New Development Finance Tools	The City of Fort St. John already has established fixed Development Cost Charges to help fund costs associated with new development, so no new impacts are anticipated.
Housing Needs Report Required	The City's Housing Needs Report has undergone a comprehensive review and update to meet provincial requirements to be updated by December 31st, 2024. This update used the most recent 2021 Census to provide accurate housing needs projections for the City for 5 and 20 year projections.
Official Community Plans	Official Community Plans are now legislated to be updated every 5 years to incorporate the 5 and 20 year projected housing targets as determined in the housing needs report. The City’s OCP update is currently underway and is estimated to be complete by the end of 2025.
Zoning Bylaws	The Zoning Bylaw was amended in June of 2024 to allow for 4 dwelling units and 3 residential buildings on all residential parcels over 280m2. This applies to parcels zoned R-1, R-1A, R-2, R-4, and R-4A. (Principal dwelling and a combination of suites or detached suites).
Public Hearings	Public hearings for rezonings are prohibited if the proposal aligns with the Official Community Plan.

As a municipality and community, we have successfully been meeting the legislated requirements for all related housing document and bylaw updates.

How significant are these changes?

Across the province, this is considered a sweeping change, and many municipalities are struggling to meet the new requirements. Over the last twenty years, the City of Fort St. John has already been incrementally addressing some of these new planning rules

When will Council be considering these changes?

The City continues to meet the targets legislated by the province, through their Homes for People Action Plan and associated bills.

The provincially legislated zoning bylaw amendments for Small Scale Multi Unit Housing (SSMUH) were passed by resolution of Council on June 24^th, 2024.

The Housing Needs Report Update [PDF - 891 KB] was completed in December of 2024, was made public through the published agenda on January 2^nd, and was received for information at a regular council meeting by Council on January 6^th, 2025.

The Official Community Plan update is underway and is targeted to be presented to Council for 1^st reading in the fall of 2025.