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West Vancouver Zoning

West Vancouver Bylaw 5446: what council decides on 21 September

Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 5446 would allow four units on most single-family lots in West Vancouver, and six on lots near frequent transit. It goes to first, second and third reading on 21 September 2026. This page explains what is proposed, in plain language, with the numbers from the District's own council report.

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Status · updated 29 August 2026

Not yet adopted. Council is scheduled to consider first, second and third readings on 21 September 2026 at 6 p.m. in the Municipal Hall Council Chamber and by WebEx. Three readings are not adoption: under the Transportation Act the bylaw must go to the Ministry of Transportation and Transit for approval after first reading and before it can be adopted. Everything on this page describes what is proposed. We will update it the morning after the vote.

Why this is happening

In November 2025 the Province passed Bill 25, which widened the definition of a "restricted zone" in the Local Government Act to include any zone that permits only a single-family dwelling, a secondary suite and a coach house. That change swept in most of West Vancouver's single-family zones, which had largely sat outside the earlier Bill 44 requirements. Municipalities were required to amend their zoning bylaws by 30 June 2026. That deadline has passed, and in June 2026 the Minister of Housing wrote to the District confirming that compliance is a legislated requirement and that the Minister has the authority to impose a zoning override.

Bylaw 5446 is the District's response. The working approach behind it was set out in nine principles, and the short version of those principles is that West Vancouver is meeting the legal minimum while changing as little else as possible: existing setbacks stay, the two-storey-plus-basement scale stays outside the transit strip, and the differences between neighbourhoods stay.

9,199parcels moving to a four-unit minimum
1,133parcels in the new six-unit RG-4 zone
641parcels exempt from the legislation
13,168units of theoretical new zoned capacity

Theoretical capacity is not a forecast. Nothing obliges an owner to build more than one unit, and District staff say they expect any real increase to be incremental. Across British Columbia, under one percent of eligible lots are redeveloped in a year, and construction cost rather than zoning has been the limiting factor.

Housing options on a West Vancouver lot, before and after the proposed four-unit zoneTwo rows of axonometric lots, with each dwelling shown as a separately coloured section of the building and its own front door, so the number of homes can be counted. Top row, permitted today: a house with one door; a house with a secondary suite on the lower level, two doors; and a house with a suite plus a coach house that can be rented but not sold, three doors. Bottom row, options a four-unit zone would add: a duplex with a secondary suite under each half, four doors in one building at two storeys; a triplex, three homes side by side under one roof; and a fourplex split across a front building with two homes and a lower rear building with two more, capped at 6.4 metres.WHAT YOU CAN BUILD TODAYcount the front doorsWHAT A FOUR-UNIT ZONE WOULD ADD1unitHouseone front door2unitsHouse + secondary suitesuite on the lower level, rented3unitsHouse + suite + coach housecoach house can be rented, not sold4unitsDuplex + two suitestwo homes side by side, a suite under each3unitsTriplexthree homes, three doors, one roof4unitsFourplex across two buildingstwo at the front, two behind at 6.4 m
What is permitted today, and what a four-unit zone would add. Coach houses become units an owner can sell, not just rent.

The four-unit zones

This covers the great majority of West Vancouver: properties in RS2, RS3, RS4, RS5, RS10, RD1 and RD2 that sit more than 400 m from a frequent transit bus stop. Here is what would change and, just as importantly, what would not.

What changes

  • Height rises from 7.62 m to 8.0 m. Still two storeys plus a basement. Where there is more than one building on the lot, the rear building is capped at 6.4 m so the front building stays the primary form.
  • Site coverage rises from 30–40% to 35–40%, depending on the zone.
  • One all-inclusive floor area ratio of 0.65 for the whole lot replaces the current mix of exclusions and bonuses. A maximum of 0.45 applies to any single principal dwelling.
  • The top storey is limited to 75% of the floor area of the storey immediately below, and clause 130.101(3) requires that reduction to be achieved by a step-back of at least 2.0 m along not less than 50% of the length of the highest building face. Measured wall of the top storey to wall of the storey below. Note the legal test: it is the highest building face, a defined measurement concept, and not the downhill side of the lot or a compass direction. This replaces the Highest Building Face envelope as a shaping rule while keeping its measurement language.
  • Average grade moves to a simplified method based on building corners rather than a weighted calculation around the entire perimeter.
  • New housing forms are permitted: ownership coach houses, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes. Everything except a secondary suite may be stratified or rented, as the owner prefers.
  • Up to three detached buildings on lots of 930 m² (10,000 ft²) or larger. Two on anything smaller.

What stays the same

Front yard setbacks are unchanged at 9.1 m, or 7.6 m in RS5 and the RD zones. Side yards are not a flat 1.52 m, and treating them as one is how a wide-lot footprint ends up too wide on paper. Each zone sets a formula:

  • RS2, RS3, RS4, RS10: the greater of 2.45 m, or 12.5% of site width up to a maximum requirement of 9.1 m.
  • RS5: the greater of 1.52 m, or 12.5% of site width up to a maximum requirement of 9.1 m.
  • RD1, RD2: the greater of 1.52 m, or 10% of site width up to a maximum requirement of 6.0 m.
  • RG-4: the greater of 1.52 m, or 12.5% of site width up to a maximum requirement of 9.1 m.

The maximum caps the requirement, not your side yard, so it only bites on a very wide site: 12.5% reaches 9.1 m at a site width of 72.8 m. Worked through on a 20 m wide RS4 lot, 12.5% is 2.5 m a side, so assuming 1.52 m overstates the width available to build in by 1.96 m. The overall two-storey-plus-basement scale is unchanged, and the differences between neighbourhoods are deliberately preserved, because maximum building size and minimum lot area still vary by zone.

ZoneMaximum building sizeMinimum lot area
RS2975.5 m²1,625 m²
RS3585.4 m²975 m²
RS4438.9 m²731 m²
RS5293 m²488 m²
RS10585.4 m²975 m²

A fourplex in RS5 and a fourplex in RS2 are very different buildings. The floor area ratio is the same, but the lot it applies to is more than three times larger.

The part owners find hardest: one FAR budget

Today, working out how much you can build in West Vancouver means navigating basement and attic exclusions that change with how much of the basement sits above average grade, a coach house bonus of up to 74.3 m² that shrinks if the existing house is already large, a secondary suite bonus of up to 46.5 m² in certain zones, and a vehicle storage exclusion of up to 41 m². The proposal takes most of that away and replaces it with one ratio, which is a real gain in predictability.

It does not follow that two neighbours with the same lot area end up with the same entitlement. Floor area is one test among several. The zone can differ, the proposed mapped zone can differ, the floor area lawfully constructed on the lot as of 30 June 2026 can differ and is an alternative maximum in its own right, and the 0.45 per-dwelling cap is applied to the largest lot registered on 30 June 2026 that comprises the whole or part of the site rather than to the site as it stands today.

The proposal replaces all of it with a single number. Every square foot of floor area counts, the total is 0.65 of the lot area, and the owner decides how to spend it.

The all-inclusive floor area ratio budget under the proposed four-unit zoneA single bar divided into three parts totalling 0.65 floor area ratio for the whole lot: 0.45 for the principal dwelling, 0.15 for a detached accessory building such as a coach house, and 0.05 for vehicle storage. An axonometric lot shows the three buildings those slices buy. A note lists what the all-inclusive ratio replaces: basement and attic exclusions, the coach house bonus of up to 74.3 square metres, the secondary suite bonus of up to 46.5 square metres, and the vehicle storage exclusion of up to 41 square metres.ONE FAR BUDGET FOR THE WHOLE LOT0.45FARPrincipal dwelling0.45 FAR maximum0.15FARDetached accessorycoach house or second building0.05FARVehicle storagegarage or carport=0.65total, every building on the lotThe owner decides how to spend the budget across buildings.WHAT THIS REPLACES— Basement and attic exclusions— Coach house bonus of up to 74.3 m²— Secondary suite bonus of up to 46.5 m²— Vehicle storage exclusion of up to 41 m²
An all-inclusive floor area ratio. The 0.45 cap on a single principal dwelling means an owner who wants the largest possible house still has 0.20 left for other buildings.
How the proposed bylaw replaces the Highest Building Face envelopeTwo building sections side by side. On the left, the current method: an envelope drawn as a 6.7 metre vertical line from grade then a 45 degree plane inward, which must be verified at many points around the building. On the right, the proposed method: the top storey is limited to 75 percent of the floor area of the storey below, with a 2.0 metre step-back along not less than 50 percent of the length of the highest building face.MANAGING THE TOP STOREYBasementMain storeyTop storey6.7 m45° envelope, checked all round the buildingToday: Highest Building Face envelopeone envelope, verified at many points and cross-sectionsBasementMain storeyTop storey2.0 m step-backtop storey ≤ 75% of the floor belowProposed: one simple proportion2.0 m back along ≥50% of the highest building face
The top storey rule. The current Highest Building Face envelope has to be verified at many points and cross-sections; the proposed rule is a proportion you can read off a floor plan.
How many separate buildings are permitted, by lot sizeTwo axonometric lots. On the left, a lot of 930 square metres or larger, marked with a green check, holding three detached buildings: a principal house, a coach house and a second smaller building. On the right, a lot smaller than 930 square metres, marked with a red cross, holding only two buildings. A note below states that additional units are always optional and never required, and that an owner can still build one house with a secondary suite and nothing else.HOW MANY SEPARATE BUILDINGS?Lot 930 m² (10,000 ft²) or largerup to three detached buildingsLot smaller than 930 m²two buildings only, to avoid crowdingAdditional units are always optional, never required.An owner can still build one house with a secondary suite and nothing else.
How many separate buildings a lot can hold, and the 930 m² threshold that decides it.

The six-unit RG-4 zone

Lots within 400 m of frequent transit, running broadly along Marine Drive out to about 25th Street, are prescribed six units by the Province and cannot be required to provide on-site parking. These are currently RS3, RS4, RS5, RS9, RD1 and RD3 properties, and the proposal gathers them into a new Ground-Oriented Dwelling 4 zone. The zone boundary is drawn to the nearest lane rather than the raw 400 m radius, so blocks do not get cut in half and both sides of a street can evolve at a similar scale.

  • All-inclusive floor area ratio of 0.8 for the lot, with a maximum of 0.45 for any principal dwelling and 0.6 for any single building.
  • Site coverage of 35–40% at three or four units, rising to 40–45% at five or six.
  • Three storeys plus basement, but only where three or more units are built. A front building may reach 10.67 m; a rear building is held to 8.0 m.
  • Where six units are built, at least one must be secured as an affordable rental unit.
  • Rear yard setbacks vary with the configuration: 9.1 m for a single building, 6.0 m for townhomes, 2.44 m for two or more buildings with a lane, and 4.57 m without one.
A six-unit lot in the proposed RG-4 zoneAn axonometric lot within 400 metres of frequent transit. A front building of three storeys plus basement at 10.67 metres contains three homes shown as separately coloured sections each with its own front door, and a lower rear building of two storeys plus basement at 8.0 metres contains three more, with a lane behind. One of the six is flagged as the affordable rental unit required at six units. Callouts note a floor area ratio of 0.8 for the lot, a maximum of 0.45 for any principal dwelling and 0.6 for any single building, site coverage of 40 to 45 percent at five or six units, three storeys only at three or more units, that no on-site parking can be required under Provincial law, and that underground parking is excluded from the floor area ratio.THE SIX-UNIT RG-4 ZONE, NEAR FREQUENT TRANSITlanefront building, 3 homes10.67 m, 3 storeys + basementrear building, 3 homes8.0 m, 2 storeys + basement1one of the six must be securedas an affordable rental unitSix homes across two buildingsthe rear building stays lower, keeping the established street scaleTHE RULES THAT DIFFER— FAR 0.8 for the lot— 0.45 max for any principal dwelling— 0.6 max for any single building— Site coverage 40–45% at five or six units— Three storeys only at three or more unitsPARKING— No on-site parking can be required— That is Provincial law, not a choice— Underground parking is free of FAR
Six units in the proposed RG-4 zone. The rear building is deliberately held lower than the front so the street scale is preserved.

The clause most people have missed

Almost all of the public discussion has been about whether a homeowner should add a coach house or a fourplex. The provision with the largest consequences is quieter: where two or more lots are assembled for townhouses, the proposed floor area ratio is 1.2 with site coverage of 50%, and underground parking is excluded from the floor area calculation entirely.

Two assembled RS4 lots at 731 m² each is 1,462 m². At 1.2, that is roughly 18,900 ft² of townhouse. That is not a homeowner decision any more. That is a development project, and it is the reason the RG-4 strip along Marine Drive is worth watching closely. What a two-lot assembly would actually build →

Assembling two lots for townhouses in the proposed RG-4 zoneTwo axonometric assemblies of two lots each, with the original lot line shown dashed. On the left, a single row of six townhomes with a 6.0 metre rear yard setback. On the right, two rows of six townhomes each, where the rear setback drops to 2.44 metres when the site has a lane. A callout notes that an assembly needs a minimum of two lots and gets a floor area ratio of 1.2 with 50 percent site coverage, that underground parking does not count against the floor area ratio, and that two assembled RS4 lots is roughly 18,900 square feet of townhouse.ASSEMBLING TWO LOTS FOR TOWNHOUSESOne row of townhomestwo lots combined, rear setback 6.0 m for a single buildingTwo rows of townhomestwo lots combined, rear setback drops to 2.44 m with a laneWHAT THE ASSEMBLY UNLOCKS— Minimum two lots, FAR 1.2, site coverage 50%— Underground parking does not count against FAR— Two assembled RS4 lots is roughly 18,900 ft² of townhouse
Assembling two lots. A single row keeps a 6.0 m rear yard; two rows with a lane behind can come within 2.44 m.

What this bylaw does not change

This is the part that surprises people, and it is where most West Vancouver projects actually get difficult. Zoning tells you how many units you may build. It does not remove any of the following.

  • Development permit areas still apply. The Wildfire Hazard development permit area covers roughly half the District's land, and where it applies a permit must be approved before you can apply for a building permit. Environmental and Foreshore areas apply elsewhere, and a single lot can sit inside more than one.
  • Slope, geotechnical and creek requirements are unchanged. Most of West Vancouver is on a hillside, so these are the norm rather than the exception.
  • The tree bylaw still governs what can be removed and what has to be replaced, and existing vegetated permeable surface and tree planting requirements would be applied to this new development.
  • Energy and carbon step code requirements continue to apply to every new unit.
  • Lower Caulfeild remains a heritage conservation area.
  • Converting an existing house into strata units is not the cheap option. The council report is explicit that conversion typically requires substantial upgrading and remedial work to meet Building Code requirements. In practice, dividing a 1970s house into four code-compliant, separately titled units often costs more than building new.

Which lots are exempt

A total of 641 parcels qualify for exemption under section 481.4 of the Local Government Act: properties with heritage designation, sites larger than 4,050 m², and sites not served by municipal or regional water or sewer. The District's list of exempt parcels is submitted to the Minister of Housing as part of the bylaw process. There is also a pending exemption request for the RS6 zone, covering Abode and Eagle Island.

How the process works from here

  1. 21 September 2026: council considers first, second and third readings, 6 p.m., Municipal Hall Council Chamber and by WebEx.
  2. Ministry review: after first reading and before adoption, the bylaw is referred to the Ministry of Transportation and Transit for approval, as required under the Transportation Act.
  3. Adoption: only at this point do the new rules apply to a building permit application.
  4. Implementation work follows, including Official Community Plan amendments to establish a form and character development permit area for the RG-4 zone, updates to the Development Procedures Bylaw, a review of growth financing, servicing standard updates for water and sewer, and revisions to the zoning brochure and application forms.

There is no public hearing. A hearing on an amendment made to comply with the small-scale multi-unit housing legislation is prohibited under section 464(4) of the Local Government Act. Public notice of council's consideration is required under section 467(1), and the District has said it would prepare a marked-up copy of the amendments to help people follow the changes. Staff have handled around 150 public inquiries so far and can be reached at SSMUH@westvancouver.ca or 604-925-7040.

Bylaw 5446: common questions

Do I have to build four units on my lot?

No. Additional units are permitted, never required. An owner can continue to build a single-family home with or without a secondary suite, exactly as today. The zoning sets a ceiling, not a floor, and District staff have said they expect actual take-up to be incremental.

How many units would my West Vancouver lot allow?

Under the proposal, most lots in RS2, RS3, RS4, RS5, RS10, RD1 and RD2 would permit four units. Lots within 400 m of frequent transit, broadly along Marine Drive to about 25th Street, would fall in a new RG-4 zone permitting six. Around 30 parcels smaller than 280 m² are prescribed three units, which is what they already allow. Roughly 641 parcels are exempt because of heritage designation, size over 4,050 m², or the absence of municipal water and sewer.

Can I sell a coach house separately from the main house?

Under the proposal, yes. Ownership coach houses would be permitted for the first time, and any dwelling other than a secondary suite may be stratified or rented at the owner's choice. Secondary suites cannot be stratified, under section 130.05 of the Zoning Bylaw. This is one of the more consequential changes for owners who want to keep a property in the family or release equity without selling the whole lot. Zoning permission is not the same thing as strata title. A new building deposits a strata plan in the ordinary way, but converting a house that has already been lived in needs Council approval under section 242 of the Strata Property Act, and Council can refuse it or attach conditions. That decision cannot be appealed.

Would I need to provide parking?

In the six-unit RG-4 zone the District is prohibited by Provincial legislation from requiring any on-site parking. It cannot impose a requirement even if it wanted to. To encourage underground parking anyway, the proposal excludes it from the floor area ratio calculation. In the four-unit zones, existing parking regulations continue to apply.

What is an all-inclusive floor area ratio?

It means nearly every square foot of floor area on the lot counts toward one number. The proposed figure is 0.65 in RS2, RS3, RS4, RS5 and RS10, 0.80 in RD1 and RD2 and for most uses in RG-4, and 1.20 in RG-4 for ground-oriented dwellings on a site 30 metres wide or more, with a cap of 0.45 on any single principal dwelling. Nearly, not entirely: clause 130.081(3) keeps three exclusions, being non-habitable attics, the Energy Step Code allowance in 120.29(2) where the building is designed to meet the Step Code, and one detached unheated accessory building up to 10 m². What it replaces is the current system of basement and attic exclusions, the coach house bonus of up to 74.3 m², the secondary suite bonus of up to 46.5 m², and the vehicle storage exclusion of up to 41 m². Vehicle storage, carports included, would now be counted. For most owners the buildable area is broadly similar; what changes is that it is far more predictable.

Does this override the wildfire or tree rules?

No. Development permit areas for wildfire hazard, watercourses and the foreshore continue to apply, as do slope and geotechnical requirements, the tree bylaw, tree planting and permeable surface requirements, and the energy and carbon step code. In much of West Vancouver the wildfire hazard development permit must be approved before a building permit application can even be made, which typically adds four to six weeks and requires a wildfire hazard assessment from a qualified professional.

When would the new rules actually take effect?

Not on 21 September. Council is scheduled to consider three readings that evening, but the bylaw must then go to the Ministry of Transportation and Transit for approval before it can be adopted. Only on adoption do the rules apply to a permit application. Adoption is also not the last step for the six-unit RG-4 zone. The same staff report lists further work the District expects to do afterwards, including an Official Community Plan amendment to create a form and character Development Permit Area for RG-4. If that lands, an RG-4 project would need a development permit on top of a building permit, which adds time and design review. Anyone planning around this should confirm the current status with District planning before committing to a design.

Is converting my existing house into units cheaper than building new?

Usually not, and the council report says so directly: converting existing homes into strata-titled units typically requires substantial upgrading and remedial work to comply with Building Code requirements. Fire separation, sound separation, egress, servicing and often structural work all come into play. There is also a second gate people miss: under section 242 of the Strata Property Act, putting a previously occupied building on a strata plan needs Council approval, Council can refuse or attach conditions, and that decision cannot be appealed. Council must also be satisfied the building substantially complies with the District bylaws and the building regulations. It is worth pricing both options honestly before choosing.

Where this leaves an owner

Zoning capacity and financial feasibility are different things. In the City of Vancouver, an analysis of all 56,088 lots zoned for multiplex found that the great majority do not work financially, largely because a typical 33 ft lot is too narrow to reach the unit counts that make a project pay. West Vancouver has the opposite problem and the opposite advantage: minimum lot areas here run from 488 m² to 1,625 m², so the geometry is rarely the constraint. Land value, construction cost, slope, trees and the permit path are.

That means the honest answer for most owners is that this changes what is possible, not what is sensible. The owners for whom it will make sense tend to be those who hold their land outright and want a second unit for family or income; those who have just bought a tired house on a good lot and are deciding between one large home and several units; and those assembling adjoining lots in the transit strip. If you are in one of those three situations it is worth running the numbers properly. If you are not, there is no rush.

Eurohouse Construction has built in West Vancouver since 2009, through the wildfire and environmental development permit areas, the tree bylaw, steep-slope geotechnical work and permit timelines that routinely run 22 to 44 weeks on a custom home, counting from the start of design through to holding the permit. We are happy to tell you if your lot is a candidate, and equally happy to tell you if it is not.

West Vancouver is not the only council working through this. The City of North Vancouver adopted its version on 8 December 2025 and the District of North Vancouver voted against on 13 April 2026. How the three North Shore municipalities compare →

Wondering what your lot would allow?

Send us the address. We will tell you which zone you are in, what the proposal would permit, which development permit areas apply, and what it would realistically cost to build. No obligation, and a straight answer either way.

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Sources and status. Figures and provisions on this page are drawn from the District of West Vancouver council report of 20 July 2026, "Proposed Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 5446, 2026 (Bill 25 Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing Compliance)", and its Appendix A working approach. Diagrams are Eurohouse Construction's own illustrations of the proposed provisions and are simplified for explanation. This page is general information about a proposed bylaw, not legal, planning or design advice, and the bylaw may be amended before adoption. Confirm current requirements with District of West Vancouver planning at 604-925-7040 or SSMUH@westvancouver.ca before making decisions. Last updated 1 September 2026.

Primary sources