Person visiting a rezoning application webpage on Shape Your City on their tablet

How rezoning works

The rezoning process has opportunities for your input. Find out who's listening throughout the process and how your input shapes the decision.

BEFORE REZONING

Community plans and policies

Our policy planners write plans and policies that outline future community objectives.
Community plans and policies:
- Set out the long-term vision and future growth for a community, including its amenities
- Guide how land can be developed through zoning, including land uses and what can be built
- Outline where we may consider a rezoning in response to City Council priorities
After engaging with the community, our policy planners present community plans and policies to Council to decide on.

View community plans and policies

Give feedback to our policy planners

You can give feedback in two ways:
1. Participate in open houses, surveys, and other engagement events when we develop plans.
  Participate on Shape Your City
2. Speak to City Council when we present plans for decision.
  Speak at a meeting
REZONING

Step 1: Pre-application and enquiry

Our rezoning planners provide detailed advice to potential applicants on early rezoning proposals.

Some applicants submit a preliminary rezoning proposal for review before formally applying. All reviews of proposals are informed by Council-approved plans and policies.

Our rezoning planners respond to the applicant's enquiry. They may ask the applicant to hold a pre-application open house to show early design ideas and get input from the community. The applicant invites the community to the open house. Pre-application open houses are not listed on our website.

Give feedback to the applicant

If the applicant holds an open house, your feedback will help inform their next steps.
REZONING

Step 2: Application

Our rezoning planners review formal rezoning applications in detail and seek public input.

The applicant submits a formal rezoning application that's informed by early advice from the pre-application and enquiry step, and by City Council-approved plans and policies.

Our rezoning planners notify the public of the rezoning application with a project site sign, postcard, and our website.

Find a rezoning application

For most rezoning applications, our rezoning planners hold an online question and answer period to share information about the proposal and get input from the public. They may also ask for feedback from citizen-led advisory committees.

Give feedback to our rezoning planners

Participate in the online question and answer period and contact our rezoning planners. Your feedback will inform the review of the rezoning application.

Participate on Shape Your City
REZONING

Step 3: Report writing and referral to public hearing

Our rezoning planners make a recommendation to City Council about rezoning applications. Council decides whether to proceed to a public hearing.
A: Report writing

Our rezoning planners write a report for City Council that:
- Describes the application
- Summarizes all the feedback
- Recommends to refer the application to a public hearing and whether to approve or refuse the application
What we do with your feedback

The report includes a summary of all feedback received.

B: Referral to public hearing

Our rezoning planners coordinate with our meeting coordinators to add the report to a Council meeting agenda. At this meeting, Council decides on whether to refer the rezoning application to a future public hearing for a final decision.

During this step, Council must not discuss the rezoning application with the applicant or the public. This is so Council doesn't receive information that the public and applicant don't have before the public hearing.

Give feedback to City Council

See the next step to give feedback to Council after the rezoning application is referred to a public hearing.
REZONING

Step 4: Public hearing

City Council decides on rezoning applications.
City Council must hold a public hearing before deciding on rezoning applications (for zoning by-law changes) and heritage designations, according to the Vancouver Charter.

Once Council refers a rezoning application to a public hearing, our rezoning planners liaise with our meeting coordinators to schedule the application for an upcoming public hearing.

Our rezoning planners notify the public of a public hearing with a project site sign, postcard, and our website. Our meeting coordinators usually publish the meeting agenda one week before the meeting.
At public hearings, Council’s role is to listen to the public when it decides on a rezoning application. For each agenda item:
1. Our meeting coordinators summarize the agenda item and correspondence they received about the rezoning application.
2. Our rezoning planners present the rezoning application and recommendation to Council.
3. The applicant may also present to Council.
4. Members of the public who register to speak present to Council.
5. Council discusses the application.
6. The mayor calls for a vote on the motion to approve, amend, or refuse the rezoning application after Council members have spoken.
Give feedback to City Council

You can give feedback in two ways:
1. Send your comments or petition online
  Your name and comments will be published in the meeting agenda.
2. Request to speak at the meeting
  Your name and comments will be published in the meeting records.
Your feedback will help inform Council's discussion and decision on the rezoning application.
REZONING

Step 5: Zoning enactment

City Council enacts a by-law to change the zoning.

The applicant needs to meet all of the legal conditions of rezoning, including paying any required community amenity contributions. This work usually happens in the months after rezoning applications are approved at public hearings.

When all the conditions are met, our lawyers liaise with our rezoning planners and meeting coordinators to confirm enactment and add the zoning by-law to a Council meeting agenda.

Council votes to enact the zoning by-law as the final step in rezoning.
AFTER REZONING

Development and building permit

Our permit coordinators review permit applications and issue development and building permits.
After a rezoning application is approved at public hearing, the applicant can apply for a development permit. Development permits ensure that the applicant's detailed building design complies with our Zoning and Development By-law. This by-law regulates:
- What types of land uses are allowed
- Where a building can be located on a site
- What is the building's maximum height and size
- Other provisions necessary to enable good city building.
The applicant's detailed building design is informed by the conditions of approval from the rezoning application.

Our development permit coordinators issue a development permit once the applicant meets all conditions of approval and City Council enacts the new zoning by-law.

Find a development permit application

The applicant can now apply for a building permit to start construction. Building permits ensure the building complies with our Vancouver Building By-law. This by-law regulates a building's life safety, liveability, accessibility, and sustainability.