After five months of refusing to comply with provincial housing regulations, Burnaby city council is now on track to approve the mandated bylaw.
At a meeting Dec. 2, councillors unanimously passed three of four major approvals to introduce “transit-oriented areas,” or TOAs, concentric rings drawn around rapid transit stations.
The provincial legislation requires cities to permit between eight- and 20-storey buildings within the designated areas, depending on the proximity to the station.
The province had required the bylaw to be in place by the end of June this year, but Burnaby council twice delayed the matter until after the provincial election in October.
There was no discussion about the approvals around the council table.
After the meeting, the Burnaby NOW asked Mayor Mike Hurley what had changed.
“I don’t think we have any option,” Hurley said, noting the NDP government remains in power.
“The same minister is back. I mean, they have been in touch with the CAO here, telling him that we better get on with our bylaw.”
The province could have overruled the city’s bylaws and designated the transit-oriented areas without council approval, according to Hurley.
“Better get on with it, or they’re going to write it,” Hurley said. “So, we figure we better write it.”
Homeowners in Brentwood Park and Sullivan Heights have opposed the provincial legislation.
The legislation is supposed to fast-track development and remove “restrictive zoning bylaws” the province says have slowed down building much needed housing.
The bylaw’s last approval, called final adoption, is expected to come to council at its next meeting Dec. 16.
