Rustad Would Scrap Zoning Reforms, Keep Rent Control

A BC Conservative government would no longer force municipalities to allow the densification of their single-family neighbourhoods, said party leader John Rustad.

He shared his stance before delegates at the Union of BC Municipalities conference today ahead of the provincial election on Oct. 19.

In November 2023, the BC NDP government introduced Bill 44, which required municipalities to permit the construction of up to four units on what was previously a single-family lot. For lots near rapid transit, six units must be permitted.

“We are going to get rid of Bill 44 government oversight on this,” Rustad told the crowd, to some applause.

The BC NDP’s zoning reforms were viewed by a number of local leaders to be a controversial flexing of provincial power. Even those who agreed with the intent behind the changes said they wanted a more collaborative rollout.

“We need to make sure that we support local government and local democracy and not have it taken away and have it run out of Victoria, as has been done with the current government,” Rustad went on to say.

He used even stronger words to describe the zoning reforms in an hour-long appearance with the Conversations that Matter interview show, calling it “a very authoritarian approach by, quite frankly, a hardcore socialist government.”

In place of the reforms, he teased his support for something he called “pre-zoning,” but did not share further details with delegates or media.

Letting local plans lead the way

None of the parties have yet released their platforms. But based on previous interviews Rustad has given, the BC Conservative plan appears to allow municipalities to set out the density they want to see as part of their official community plans. This is opposed to the BC NDP legislation that permits the densification of all single-family lots, regardless of local plans.

“It allows when people buy houses to be able to see in the distance what the city is thinking of in the next 10, 20 or 30 years, as opposed to the chaotic approach that’s happening with the government of British Columbia and its policies,” Rustad said in his speech.

Rustad told UBCM delegates he would spend $10 billion on infrastructure funding. He later told media that it’s "good money" that can be used towards community water and sewer upgrades that prove his party’s commitment to supporting density in local plans.

Ever since the November 2023 reforms, municipalities have been scrambling to adjust their community plans to meet the new requirements set out by the province by the June 2024 deadline. The province set aside $51 million in grants to help them make those changes, which could be spent on everything from consultants to community engagement.

A number of municipalities were unable to meet that deadline and requested an extension. Twenty-one of those requests were granted in full or only for certain neighbourhoods, while seven of them were denied.

“Local government is responsible for land use decisions. It shouldn’t be overridden by the province,” Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart, who was in attendance, told The Tyee.

Local government always had the power to increase density where a city deems appropriate, like around rapid transit hubs, and “that’s where it belongs,” he said.

“Densifying way up in the cul-de-sac on the top of the mountain is actually the reverse of where we ought to be going, and it also uses up scarce resources in a way that will hamper the delivery of housing.”

No plans to touch provincial rent control, says Rustad

The Tyee asked Rustad whether or not he would scrap provincially mandated rent control.

A Reddit user, who said they attended a BC Conservative party event on Aug. 8 at the Camp Beer Co. craft brewery in Langley, claimed they heard Rustad would remove the cap on the annual allowable rent increase for tenants in B.C., but the user did not share Rustad’s exact words. That post has sparked further online chatter, as Rustad’s position on the topic is not mentioned on the party’s website.

On Sept. 18, the housing justice organization Acorn Canada launched a petition asking the BC Conservatives not to touch rent control.

However, Rustad told The Tyee: “Rent control is something that we have no plans at this stage to look at.”

“What my hope is, over the long term, we need to significantly build out rent capacity in British Columbia so that the market can stabilize, so they can put a reasonable amount of vacancy that’ll help to stabilize prices and bring down prices.”

But that doesn’t mean Rustad is a fan of rent control as a concept.

“Once you get to that place [of rent stabilization], then that’s something you need to look at doing, is remove rent control,” he said. "Because the end result of rent control can often be the degradation of your rental stock because you’re not seeing the reinvestment in the units. We need to guard against that.

“But in the short-term, there’s nothing you can do about that because we have a crunch. We have more demand than we have supply and we can’t be pricing people out of the market.”

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