District of Central Saanich

In November 2023, the Province of British Columbia introduced changes to the Local Government Act with the goal of increasing the speed and supply of new housing across BC. As of June 24, 2024 a new zoning bylaw was adopted (Bylaw No. 2196) for residential lots inside the urban containment boundary zone. Single-family or duplex housing are now permitted to build three or four dwelling units in most areas, in line with Provincial requirements. Certain properties along main corridors in the District are permitted four, six, or eight units depending on lot size.

To achieve the requirements outlined by Bill 44, current residential zones have been replaced with two new zones. The District’s Official Community Plan aligns closely with this direction.

The Residential Neighbourhood zone applies to the majority of lands in the urban containment boundary, and permits three or four units depending on lot size, in line with provincial requirements.
The Residential Corridor Zone aligns with the Main Corridor designation in the Official Community Plan, and permits either 4, 6 or 8 units depending on lot size.

It is important to note that four “units” is not equal to four buildings nor is the number of permitted dwelling units a guarantee of achievable density. On the average residential lot, only two buildings will be permitted, but they can contain suites (up to four units total). On large lots, up to three buildings (six units) would be permitted. Outside of the urban containment boundary, where residential uses are permitted and site conditions meet requirements, one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit is permitted. On ALR land currently only secondary suites are permitted.

With a recently updated Official Community Plan, Central Saanich is well-positioned to increase housing supply in a manner consistent with our community vision and neighbourhood character. In addition the district has adopted new Residential Infill Design Guidelines. Most types of infill will require a Development Permit to ensure design aspects of development are consistent with The Official Community Plan Development Permit Guidelines - Schedule A, Section 9.

Infill Design Guidelines

To learn more about some of the different infill and small, multi-unit housing forms and regulations view the information pages below.

Residential Neighbourhood Zone Handout (Final)_0.pdf

Residential Corridor Zone Handout (Final).pdf

Secondary Suites

Accessory Cottages & Carriage Houses

Panhandle Lots

Houseplexes & Townhouses

Low Rise Apartments (Max 8 units)

Brentwood and Saanichton commercial cores

FAQ's

What is infill and Small Scale Multi-Unit Housing?

Infill and small-scale, multi-unit housing describes a range of buildings and housing units that can provide attainable housing for middle-income families. Examples include:

Secondary suites in single-family dwellings
Detached accessory dwelling units (ADUs), like garden suites or laneway homes
Triplexes
Townhomes
House-plexes
Small-scale, multi-unit housing offers housing options that are ground-oriented and compatible in scale and form within established single-family neighbourhoods. These housing forms typically offer more family-oriented units than larger-scale multi-family housing and more affordable options than single-family dwellings. Housing supply and affordability have become increasingly more challenging. These issues are exacerbated by the limited housing diversity in our community. Nearly two-thirds of our housing stock is increasingly expensive single-family dwellings. The result is that there are not enough options for seniors to downsize or young families to move into Central Saanich. Increasing the variety of available housing options through infill and densification can help meet our community’s evolving housing needs.

What about parking and pedestrian safety issues that arise with more housing?

Parking and traffic concerns are often raised when new developments are proposed. Realizing this is a subject matter that needs to be looked at more closely, two new policies have been added to the Official Community Plan as part of this project:

Update the off-site servicing standards to include on-street parking as part of the frontage improvements, in balance with other priorities for use of the roadways such as sidewalks, street trees, and bike lanes.
Consider establishing a Parking Fund to collect cash-in-lieu payments when a variance is granted, that would be used to improve public parking and alternative transit infrastructure.

Another project initiative currently underway in the District is the development of an Active Transportation Plan, which would help identify priority locations where pedestrian and cycling improvements are most needed, and where new pathways can improve connectivity throughout the District.

What about tiny homes?

A challenge with tiny homes is that they are not addressed in the BC Building Code and they currently cannot meet code. Should there be provincial changes to the BC Building Code to address tiny homes, or if it can be shown they comply with BC Building Code, or an alternative health and safety standard, we would consider them as an alternative to a cottage or carriage house.

Tiny homes would need to be connected to water, sanitary sewer and storm drainage services. Like cottages, they would be regulated through a development permit process when they are within the Urban Settlement Area. (See cottages above).

What about affordable housing?

What about accessibility?

One of the key objectives of the District is to increase housing diversity to provide a wider range of houses options suitable for people of all ages and abilities. As part of the zoning updates, and in the Residential Corridor zone, the maximum housing density may be increased by one additional dwelling unit where that dwelling is designed, constructed, and maintained as a fully accessible unit and is secured by a covenant

In addition, recent policy amendments in the OCP address improving accessibility by:

including a new policy to specifically encourage accessible design standards in new developments,
identifying fully accessible housing as one of the housing needs that would be supported, and
including a new policy to undertake a review of accessibility standards and best practices in the future that may include further Land Use Bylaw and Building Bylaw amendments.

New parking regulations for accessible parking spaces were recently adopted by Council. The province is reviewing the topic of accessibility as well and changes to BC Building Code are anticipated that would provide guidance for a future review, particularly changes to construction standards.

What about protecting heritage homes?

New developments can incorporate existing heritage buildings as part of redeveloping a site and the recent preservation of the Verdier House is a local example. To ensure heritage conservation is explored, the OCP amendments include a new policy that retaining buildings or site features with heritage value should be considered.

The design guidelines in the OCP now note where heritage sites are, and these heritage properties as well as those properties close to should facilitate heritage conservation and have a design style that is complementary.

The issues of heritage conservation more generally is a topic that would be looked at more closely as part of the OCP Review project.

What about our infrastructure capacity?

There is adequate capacity in our sewer and water systems to deal with any new development and the population projections resulting from this project.

The sewer system is regularly assessed by hydraulic modelling based on population projections. Similarly to ensure excess design capacity in the water system it is modelled under a range of conditions and population scenarios for 2025 and 2050, including maximum daily demands and a fire situation occurring together.

Localized upgrades to pipes and pumps is an ongoing issue and these types of technical/ mechanical upgrades may be required long before issues on system capacity arise.

Addressing infill development within existing neighbourhoods and within the Urban Settlement Area would occur where the systems have been designed to accommodate future growth, and avoids unwanted sprawl that may require further expansion of municipal infrastructure.

Why were these zoning changes adopted?

In the fall of 2023, the Province of British Columbia (BC) introduced changes to the Local Government Act (LGA) and Vancouver Charter (VC) to allow more small-scale, multi-unit housing (SSMUH) in land use zones that are otherwise restricted to single-family dwellings or duplexes. The legislation applies to all municipalities and regional districts in the province and all local governments in British Columbia are required to comply with the sections of the SSMUH legislation applicable to their situation.. The aim of the SSMUH legislation is to increase housing supply, create more diverse housing choices, and over time, contribute to more affordable housing across BC.

Regardless of the provincial efforts to encourage more housing, proposals continue to be dependent upon a property owner wanting to redevelop and financial viability. Even though the provincial legislation drastically changes municipalities zoning framework, the uptake on development is still anticipated to be gradual with a significant amount of District oversight through the development permit process. Council approval is still necessary for infill developments since approval of a development permit, and alignment with our OCP Design Guidelines is required to ensure sensitive design, however the timeline is shorter and the risk to the property owner is lower.

How is our community being preserved/protected?

It is important to note some key aspects of current policy direction that are not changing with these zoning changes.

Residential infill and densification continues to be focused within the Urban Settlement Area Boundary, consistent with current OCP policies and the CRD Regional Growth Strategy.

By limiting new development to small scale infill within existing neighbourhoods and limited densification in the core commercial areas, the proposed polices would help mitigate pressures for urban sprawl onto our Rural and Agricultural lands.

In order to remain strong on protecting agricultural and rural lands, we cannot grow out , therefore, new growth has to be accommodated within existing neighbourhoods and through densification within the core commercial areas of Brentwood Bay Village and Saanichton Village.

The policies would help to create compact, walkable neighbourhoods where a range of commercial and community services are available, which is a fundamental principal of the OCP.

By providing more housing close to services, employment areas, and close to public transit we can reduce reliance on automobile and help to address Climate change.

The District has been experiencing growth rates close to 1%, which is anticipated to continue through to 2036.

An analysis of the Infill Development potential showed that the anticipated growth could be accommodated through infill development on Residential lands within the Settlement Area and with densification in the core Villages of Saanichton and Brentwood Bay, including medium density growth along the main travel corridors.

At this time, no changes to the Settlement Area Boundary are contemplated to accommodate growth.

Infill & Small Scale Multi-Unit Housing