ENM On Rental-Only Zoning in BC

(Newswire.net — May 16, 2018) Langley, British Columbia —

Last month, the NDP delivered on a campaign promise when it introduced legislation allowing BC municipalities to create rental-only zones within its borders. The demand for rental properties is huge in BC, especially in the Lower Mainland, and the hope is that this new tool will stabilize the soaring price of rents and allow residents to have more long-term security as renters.

ENM Project Manager Daniel Greenhalgh supports this new tool. ENM has recently shifted its focus to developing purpose-built rental properties in the Lower Mainland, as evidenced by its work on the 191-unit Willoughby Walk project in Langley. Greenhalgh hopes that BC mayors and councils will make use of the new zoning tool in denser areas of their towns and cities, much like the Willoughby neighborhood.

REZONING ALR LANDS

Dan sees an opportunity for the provincial government to free up non-farmable ALR lands for rental re-zoning. “Allowing exceptions for some limited-use ALR land to be developed with specific development covenants related to rental restrictions would significantly ease the current pressure on the rental market.” Dan believes that unfarmable ALR land near city centers and along transit corridors would be ideal locations for purpose-built rental properties.

If the legislation is passed, the rental-only zoning law will become the first of its kind in North America.