When new housing rules and old homes collide

The City of Chilliwack's own lackluster heritage protection rules may limit its ability to stop redevelopment of a historic downtown neighbourhood.

New provincial housing rules recently came into effect that overruled municipal density limits near transit exchanges. These rules are meant to stimulate home-building in areas where residents won’t need cars, or places to park them.

But Chilliwack’s downtown bus exchange is just a block away from a historic neighbourhood the city has long eyed for its heritage value. A ‘Heritage Walk’ has been in the works for more than a decade—and eager developers could now undermine the city’s plans if it doesn’t move fast.

In an attempt to solve BC’s ongoing housing crisis, municipalities across the province had until the end of June to approve major changes to how they handle developments. All communities were required to change their bylaws to allow four housing units on single-family lots. Many cities also had to rubberstamp new rules governing development near major bus exchanges and SkyTrain stations.

In Chilliwack, these transit-oriented changes centre on its downtown bus exchange, located on Spadina Avenue next to Save-On Foods.

Developers will be allowed to construct buildings up to 10 storeys tall within 200 metres of the exchange, and buildings up to six storeys will be allowed within 400 metres. (Developers could go higher, but they would need council approval.) The new rules also mean developers won’t need to add parking.

The rules only affect residential properties in the area. Land zoned only for commercial use will not be subject to the density rules, since you can’t build an apartment on a commercial lot unless it is rezoned. (The province is not forcing cities to rezone any land.)

Chilliwack council has said it is “displeased” with BC’s new requirements, saying the province took away the voice of the residents. City politicians also pointed out that while the rules assume future residents will have access to transit, the province has repeatedly refused to fund expansions to the city’s bus system. (You can read about Chilliwack’s most recent denied transit request here.)

Council may be even more displeased if the city’s heritage conservation plans are derailed by eager developers.

Developments as tall as 18 storeys were already permitted across much of downtown Chilliwack. But that was not the case for a small single-family residential section of the transit hub.

Since at least 2007, the city has sought a way to preserve and showcase the heritage homes in a small neighbourhood with some of Chilliwack’s oldest homes. The city has suggested the creation of a “Heritage Walk” area between First and Princess avenues. .

The goal was to establish something along the lines of Clayburn Village in Abbotsford, where history is on display while modern life continues. Chilliwack’s Heritage Walk area currently has 13 historic buildings, including St. Thomas Anglican Church, the Gervan House, the Brock House, and other heritage homes.

But in the decades since the neighbourhood plan was introduced, the city has done nothing.

Had the city given heritage protection to all 13 buildings when the Heritage Walk was proposed, or in the many years since, those buildings would be immune to the newly instituted transit-oriented development rules. The Vancouver Sun recently confirmed with the Ministry of Transportation that councils can prevent developers from turning properties with designated heritage protections into mid-rise apartments. That is not the case for buildings that are simply on a heritage inventory, which does not bestow any actual protections.

In the City of Chilliwack, all heritage protections are voluntary.

Although Chilliwack has identified 97 historic places across the city, only 15 are formally designated under the BC Conservation Act. Of 13 buildings in the heritage walk area, only two are protected: Gervan Houseand Brock House, protected in 2013 and 2014 respectively. The remaining 11 buildings have no protection and are owned privately.

The heritage strategy requires individual homeowners to apply for heritage designation if they want to protect their properties from a future owner developing it. The strategy has saved the city money over the years: by adopting a voluntary protection program, the city doesn’t need to pay homeowners if their property loses value by being designated a heritage home—something they would otherwise have had to do by law. But that voluntary process means there are only a handful of protected buildings in Chilliwack. Few owners have sought to reduce what they might be able to do with their homes. (We interviewed one exception in 2021.)

Just because most historic Heritage Walk buildings are unprotected doesn’t mean they will be demolished soon. It would still be up to owners to sell their properties to developers, who would then be able to build apartments up to six storeys tall, if they wish.

(This process isn’t new. It has been happening throughout Chilliwack for decades; since Chilliwack adopted its first Heritage Inventory in 1991, 37 historic properties have been lost to development and other changes. You can read our story on 31 of those missing buildings here.)

Even though the new rules are in place, Chilliwack still could stop some development in its historic neighbourhood—if they make some significant changes to their own approach to heritage.

According to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, properties with a designation under the BC Heritage Conservation Act will not be subject to the new density requirements for transit-oriented areas. And importantly, those designations don’t need to predate the transit density rules.

So if Chilliwack wants to save its plan for a perfectly preserved heritage neighbourhood, it will need to officially designate many of the buildings in it. And it may need to do so soon. The owners of those properties have had many years to voluntarily designate their homes—and most of them have not. Unless the owners have a change of heart before developers come knocking, Chilliwack would need to change its long-standing municipal policy of letting owners decide whether to designate or not.

That would be a major alteration to the city’s heritage strategy, and may be one of the things under examination by a recently hired consultant.

Earlier this month, the city hired a consultant to develop a plan for the heritage walk area. The consultant will review the boundaries of the district to see if it should be expanded, and talk with property owners who could be affected by a new heritage conservation area in downtown Chilliwack.

They will also propose design and maintenance guidelines for the area, and provide advice on how to manage redevelopment in the neighbourhood.

Staff said the city began phase one of the project at the beginning of July, and they expect the project to be complete by the middle of next year. At that time, an official Heritage Conservation Area would be incorporated in the city’s updated Official Community Plan. (Those community plan updates are currently in progress.)

If the city adds new heritage protections to historic properties in that area, it could overrule the province’s new density regulations. But, if the city designates those properties without the owners voluntary permission, it will need to pay them for the loss in land value. And that number could be significant given the potential for lucrative mid-rises on the properties.

“As the project has only just begun, the final approach of the Heritage Conservation Area has not been determined yet,” a city spokesperson said in an email. “Much of the discussion in the project will be about how to recognize the new provincial context and development potential, while also ensuring the ‘Village Walk’ area remains a distinct heritage area.”

In short, Chilliwack doesn’t know what it will do about its Heritage Walk. But with developers eager to snap up land across the Fraser Valley, the clock may be ticking for the heritage area.