The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) is falling in line with a new Provincial policy designed to increase housing.
The CVRD completed a process to update zoning in its nine electoral areas that provides residential properties zoned for single family dwellings with the opportunity to attach a secondary suite to their home if they chose to.
Chair of the CVRD Electoral Area Services Committee Ian Morrison said the decision will allow more opportunities for property owners to add to their homes.
“Housing is the most pressing issues facing our region, and indeed the entire province, so this new legislation comes as a welcome tool to provide property owners in the Cowichan region greater flexibility to add a suite to their family home.”
The BC Government introduced Bill 44, the Housing Statues (Residential Development) Amendment Act in 2023, aiming to increase housing supply by removing barriers for property owners to add rentals to their home.
Many residential zones already allowed suites to be attached, but the Act clarifies that attached suites no longer have minimum site area requirements, owner occupancy requirements, or special regulations concerning the access of the suite.
All electoral areas are part of the bylaw amendment, except for areas A and C which are expected to be considered for adoption later this month.
Most properties already fell in line with Bill 44 in the CVRD, but amendments were required to comply with the new legislation.
Bill 44 does not require owners to build suites, it simply allows them to build one more easily if they wish to do so.
