The province plans to step in to force Sooke to make bylaw changes that would allow small-scale multi-unit housing on single-family lots, after the municipality voted down changes that would bring it in line with provincial legislation.
In a tie vote last week, Sooke council defeated a motion to adopt the zoning-bylaw changes required by the province by Dec. 16, despite a recommendation from staff to adopt them.
The province brought in legislation last year that requires local governments to allow more housing options, such as triplexes, townhomes, secondary suites in single-family dwellings, garden suites and laneway homes, including increased density on lots currently zoned for single-family or duplex homes.
Local governments were required to pass bylaw changes by June 30, 2024, unless granted an extension.
Sooke received an extension to Dec. 16 after requesting a postponement until the end of 2030.
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon called Sooke’s vote “disappointing,” noting that it is the only community in the province that has voted down the required bylaw changes.
The province plans to step in to force the required changes and its legal team is reviewing the next steps, Kahlon said.
Some communities have received extensions of a few years for areas that don’t have the infrastructure to support higher-density housing, he said, but the municipality needs to submit a report by an engineer showing that’s the case.
The extension gives those municipalities, such as Richmond and Port Coquitlam, time to build sewer and water infrastructure to support density.
“In Sooke’s case, they don’t have an engineering report. This is just a perception that some of the councillors have, an argument they made, without backing,” Kahlon said.
The minister noted that the province has invested $120 million to upgrade Highway 14 going into Sooke, and has improved transit options into the municipality.
Mayor Maja Tait said now is not the time to add density, since residents are already concerned about the pace of growth in the area. “We’ve been building houses to the point where residents are upset with the exponential growth in our community.”
Coun. Al Beddows said infrastructure has not kept pace with the amount of housing in the municipality.
“I don’t like things rammed down my throat by other levels of government … I understand that they’re just going to order us, but I think every once in a while you have to maybe have a little bit of a protest,” he said at the council meeting.
However, Coun. Tony St. Pierre, who voted in favour of the bylaw changes, said given that the province will force the municipality to enact the changes, the only people hurt by voting against them are those who need affordable housing.
“These houses don’t make a difference to our roads,” he said.
A handful of communities across the province, including the Regional District of Nanaimo and Ladysmith, have not yet passed the necessary bylaw changes and have until Dec. 16 to do so. Ladysmith was granted longer extensions for four areas.
