Vancouver lets go of its “down zoning” idea for ancient homes

In the past the city of Vancouver had zoning restriction on character value homes which meant homes built during the 1940s could not be demolished or even if demolished, a mega- home could not be developed but recently, the City of Vancouver is receiving compliments from hosuing experts for letting go of this restriction.
“Down zoning” restricts developers to a certain size of home to be constructed in particular areas implying luxury homes cannot be developed in the place of character valued homes.
But with the city going through a housing affordability crisis coupled with a lack of supply, it was timely for the City of Vancouver to drop its “down zoning” ideology.
In trying to address the affordability issue in the city, available lands require to be made use of in the best way possible and according to Gil Kelley, the Director of Planning, making use of land is quite essential at this point I time.
Real Estate Consultant Michael Geller also stated that character home owners can now make more use of their land by constructing multi-units properties. This trend will not only lead to an increase more units in the city which will help address the supply issue in the market, it will also preserve more character homes as they will not be destroyed.
However, Kelley reported that the City has been receiving controversial feedbacks about the issue as not everyone is in favor of this decision.
But in the long run, residents will warm up to the idea as rapid rising home prices alongside lack of supply continue to be a great concern for everyone. Vancouver is in urgent need of new home lisitng hence removing restrictions on certain zone areas are well needed.
A new character homes report will be released to council in April.