Could the City of PG four-plex its way out of housing supply crunch?

A proposed bill by the BC Government that would allow additional small-scale, multi-unit housing and amended zoning rules could pave the way for more four-plexes being built in Prince George.

A fourplex is a residential building with four distinct housing units, that often see a number of different configurations and are legal to build in the northern capital.

Yesterday (Wednesday), B.C. government officials said it will implement a few bylaw requirements in municipalities with populations over 5,000 residents:

• Three to four units allowed on lots currently zoned for single-family or duplex use, depending on lot size.
• Six units allowed on larger lots zoned for single-family or duplex use and close to transit stops with frequent service.
• Municipalities impacted by the legislation can permit additional density if required, but they cannot allow for fewer units than the provincial legislation.

In an interview with MyPGNow.com, Supervisor of Subdivision and Building Inspection Mandy Stanker stated four plexes are a tangible solution after the city recently saw a run of new apartment buildings constructed.

“For a while, we had a lot of applications for apartment buildings. You have probably seen a lot of apartment buildings popping up in the city with developments along Foothill, Glenshee, Briarwood, and Southridge where either have or had multi-unit buildings being constructed.”

Under the current Official Community Plan, Stanker noted the potential for higher density in priority growth areas such as 5th Avenue, 15th Avenue, and Ospika is viable if the right developer comes forward.

“Areas right now for focus I would say in the Official Community Plan we do have nodes and typically they are along the highways (Highways 16 and 97) and they are along major intersections so things like that where it makes sense to have increased density. We just might not have that application yet.”

Stanker cautioned while four-plexes would be helpful to certain pockets of the population, plans for single-family developments continue to be the most popular option in PG.

“Typically though, I would have to say we are still focused on single-family houses and everybody loves their single-family house on a lot or in a strata. So, we do get a lot of applications focused on that.”

“We also allow secondary suites within certain types of single-family houses and we also allow cottage and carriage houses – kind of that mortgage helper piece where I own my single-family house, I have a secondary suite or I can have a little cottage house or carriage house, which is a suite above a garage.”