Housing affordability
Our children, workers, and young families cannot afford to remain here.
ResponsibleDistrict and Province
Housing and neighbourhoods
Housing and neighbourhoods in the District of North Vancouver
The Province now sets the rules for how much housing the District must allow; the District decides how well it plans for it. Homes for the people who already work here should be built where roads, water, sewer, schools and parks can carry them.
This page separates what the District is required to do from what it can choose to do.
What residents tell us
The concerns behind this page
Growth and density
New housing is being approved without enough transportation, schools, utilities, parks, and services.
ResponsibleMainly District and Province
Infrastructure falling behind growth
Water, sewer, roads, recreation, childcare, fire protection and community amenities.
ResponsibleDistrict, Metro Vancouver, Province
Who is responsible
Who actually decides
Each row is a checkable fact, with its source on the Sources and documents page.
| Decision | Who holds it | |
|---|---|---|
| Housing targets: the Province ordered the District to complete a minimum of 2,838 net new housing units between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2028, and to report progress each year | Province of British Columbia (Housing Supply Act) | Confirmed fact Source |
| Small-scale multi-unit housing on lots that used to allow one house, and higher density in transit-oriented areas, which every municipality had to permit under 2023 provincial legislation | Province of British Columbia | Confirmed fact Source |
| The Official Community Plan, zoning within the provincial rules, town-centre plans, development permits, and the charges developers pay toward infrastructure and amenities | District of North Vancouver | Confirmed fact Source |
| Regional growth strategy, and the trunk water and sewer systems new housing connects to | Metro Vancouver | Confirmed fact Source |
What a mayor can do
- Chair the council that adopts the Official Community Plan update and every zoning bylaw.
- Set, with council, the service standards the permit process is measured against.
- Decide, with council, what developers contribute toward the roads, parks, childcare and utilities their projects rely on.
- Cannot refuse the housing the Province requires; can decide how well it is planned.
What Max proposes
Housing: the proposals
Homes for the people who already work here, built where the infrastructure can carry them. Each proposal says how it would be done, who has to agree, and what it costs or gives up.
1Support housing for families, workers and seniors Proposal
Plan for the homes the Province requires and the ones the community needs — rental, family-sized units and seniors’ housing — in the town centres where transit and services already exist.
2Protect neighbourhood character Proposal
Apply the provincial small-scale housing rules with District design guidelines for trees, setbacks and scale, rather than the minimum the law allows.
3Ensure development matches infrastructure capacity Proposal
Publish, for each town centre, what the roads, water, sewer, schools and parks can carry, and time approvals to the infrastructure plan.
4Encourage practical housing choices Proposal
Make secondary suites, coach houses and small multi-unit buildings straightforward to approve, because they add homes without changing a street’s scale.
5Improve permitting timelines Proposal
Published service standards for each permit type, with monthly reporting of actual times against them.
6Require development to contribute fairly toward infrastructure Proposal
Keep development cost charges and amenity contributions current with real construction costs, and publish what each project paid and what it funded.
Your questions
What is Max Zahedi’s position on housing and density?
Provincial legislation passed in 2023 requires the District to allow small-scale multi-unit housing and higher density near transit, and the Province has ordered the District to complete at least 2,838 net new homes by September 2028. Max supports housing for families, workers and seniors built where infrastructure can carry it, faster and more predictable permits, fair developer contributions, and protecting neighbourhood character within the rules the Province sets.
Does the District of North Vancouver have to allow more density?
Yes. The Province’s 2023 housing legislation applies to every municipality, and the District has a provincial housing target order. A mayor cannot opt out of it. What a mayor and council decide is where growth goes, what it must contribute, and how quickly permits are issued.
Will new housing come with roads, schools and parks?
Only if the District plans for it. Max proposes publishing what each town centre’s infrastructure can carry, timing approvals to the infrastructure plan, and keeping developer charges current so that growth pays its share.
Sources
- Province of BC — Housing Target Order for the District of North Vancouver (Ministerial Order 280/2023) — Effective October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2028. Five-year target: 2,838 net new completed units, set at 75% of the provincial housing needs estimate.
- Province of BC — Housing target orders — All municipalities under orders, and their reports.
- District of North Vancouver — Interim housing target progress report (May 2024) — The District’s first report to the Province under the order.
- Province of BC — Small-scale, multi-unit housing — The 2023 legislation requiring municipalities to allow more homes on single-house lots.
- Province of BC — Transit-oriented development areas — The 2023 legislation on density near transit.
- District of North Vancouver — Official Community Plan update — The current OCP review.
- District of North Vancouver — Targeted OCP Review Action Plan 2021–2030 — What the District committed to review, and when.
All sources and documents · All eight priorities
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