What Bill 44 Does — and What It Does Not

Bill 44 is the Province of B.C.’s Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023. It changed how municipalities must zone many residential lots, and it restricted statutory public hearings for some zoning bylaws. It did not erase local decision-making on every housing file, and it did not eliminate public hearings for Official Community Plan (OCP) amendments.

1. Small-scale multi-unit housing

Municipalities with more than 5,000 residents — including Delta — were required to allow more than one home on lots that used to be limited to a house or a duplex. In broad terms:

• at least three units on smaller lots;
• at least four units on lots larger than 280 square metres;
• up to six units on lots close to frequent transit (generally within about 400 metres of service running about every 15 minutes).

Those numbers are units on a lot. They are not a blanket rule that a 27-unit project may become 40 units with no further approval. Whether a specific site can take three, four, six, or more units depends on lot size, servicing, transit proximity, the zoning that applies, and the bylaws actually before Council.

2. Public hearings

Under section 464 of the Local Government Act, a public hearing is still generally required before an OCP bylaw is adopted or amended.

Bill 44 added limits for certain zoning bylaws. A local government must not hold a public hearing when:

• the zoning bylaw is consistent with the OCP already in effect, is mainly residential, and residential floor area is at least half of the proposal; or
• the zoning bylaw’s sole purpose is to comply with the Province’s small-scale multi-unit housing rules.

Notice can still be required. Other consultation (emails, meetings, open houses) is not the same thing as a statutory public hearing.

Companion guide: Public Hearings on OCP Changes Weren’t Eliminated.

3. What Bill 44 does not decide by itself

• how many lots a subdivision should create;
• tree retention and replacement;
• servicing, roads, and on-site works;
• whether a proposal also needs an OCP amendment;
• taller apartment forms near prescribed transit stations — that is mainly Bill 47, a separate law.

If Council or staff say a file is “required by Bill 44,” the useful questions are: which section, which bylaw, is an OCP amendment involved, and what remains a local choice?

Sources

• Local Government Act, section 464
• Province of B.C. — Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing
• Province of B.C. — Local government public hearings

Related: What Bill 25 Does · What Bill 16 Does

This article is general public information, not legal advice. For any Delta proposal, identify the address, application or file number, bylaw numbers, and the current legislation before drawing conclusions.