City of North Vancouver Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw Update

Urban Strategies has been retained by the City of North Vancouver to prepare a new, modern Zoning Bylaw. The new Zoning Bylaw will focus on form-based provisions that would contribute to and support high quality urban design and placemaking, engaging and accessible communication, effective administration, integration/alignment with other City strategies, policies, guidelines, and regulations, and innovation related to city building.

Urban Strategies is leading the planning and engagement process so the City can transition from a traditional Zoning Bylaw that is heavy on text and technical jargon to a more modern Zoning Bylaw that is simplified and easy to use, with more visuals and a greater focus on how buildings frame the street and other public spaces. This is called a “form-based” approach to zoning.

A modernized Zoning Bylaw will help the City of North Vancouver to achieve the following key policy goals:

• Building Complete and Sustainable Communities by enabling access to daily needs closer to where people live and work, with a focus on sustainable city building
• Improving Housing Diversity and Livability by allowing for a greater mix of housing types
• Aligning Parking Requirements based on context and the different ways people move around the City for both conventional and electric vehicles, bicycles, and other mobility devices
• Improving the Way Buildings and Streets Work Together using a design-focused approach so that new buildings help to improve the street and other public spaces
• Streamlining Development Approvals by making the bylaw itself more clear, accessible and easy to use
• Supporting Future Opportunities by creating a more resilient and adaptable zoning bylaw that can respond to emerging and future needs of the City

North Vancouver is the urban core of Metro Vancouver’s North Shore with convenient access to major regional and global centres. It is a west coast community of almost 60,000 people, with a long-term vision to be a vibrant, diverse, and highly livable centre that is resilient to climate change or other stress and shocks, and sustainable in its ability to prosper without sacrifice to future generations.