New user-friendly Vancouver Zoning and Development By-law

Vancouver will soon have an updated and more user-friendly Zoning and Development By-law thanks to approved changes that will make it easier to find and use information contained within the by-law. Simplified and more consistent regulations will make regulations easier to understand, and more consistently applied, which will help to streamline permit review.

Scheduled for release in mid-November, the updated by-law feature tables, diagrams, reorganized sections, hyperlinks, and accessibility features, replacing the existing mainly text-based format.

We will be hosting online training workshops in the fall. Current or potential users of Vancouver’s Zoning and Development By-law are encouraged to register, and can sign up to receive notifications. 

Learn more and sign up to receive notifications

Background

Our Regulation Redesign project was launched in 2018 to undertake a comprehensive review of our land use rules in an effort to make them easier to find and easier to understand. The goals of this program are to simplify, clarify, and improve the consistency of our land use regulations and related land use documents.

The project has focussed on three key streams of work to meet the project objectives:

• Modernizing the zoning by-law structure and format
• Simplifying land use regulations
• Improving access to land use documents and information

In addition to updating the Zoning and Development By-law structure and format, we have been working to simplify and clarify zoning regulations, which has included amendments to building height, introducing definitions for porches, decks, and similar features, improving the consistency of related regulations, clarifying authorities, and consolidating administrative regulations. These are incremental changes toward more simplified zoning regulations and more streamlined permit processing.

To improve access to land use documents and zoning information, we have also created the Zoning and Land Use Document Library and a digital zoning map. The Zoning and Land Use Document Library is a comprehensive inventory of land use documents including the Zoning and Development By-law, as well as other land use regulation and policy documents. The digital zoning map is a consolidated convenience version of the Zoning District Plan of the Zoning and Development By-law, providing an easy way to find the zoning designation of a parcel with a direct link to the specific district schedule or CD-1 by-law.