Governance

Denman trustees direct staff to draft housing bylaw amendments

The Local Trust Committee agreed on housing-policy directions including limits on some residential lots and further discussion of environmental and heritage protection.

The Denman Firestarter · Published 2026-09-18

Report. Facts and citations only. Where we argue a position we do it in Analysis, labelled. Our standards.

Staff will draft bylaw amendments based on decisions made at the January 20 meeting after the Denman Island Local Trust Committee approved a request to proceed. ^[1]

The committee agreed to limit Rural Residential (R2) lots to four dwellings in total, a change the minutes say would affect five properties and remove permission for twenty-five principal dwellings. ^[1]

It also agreed to limit the maximum number of principal dwellings to two per Residential (R1) lot within 200m from the shoreline; the minutes say this would affect eleven properties and remove permission for twenty-seven dwellings. ^[1]

The committee agreed to remove the density cap and provide an explanation of why it does not work at the Community Information Meeting. ^[1] The minutes also record discussion of the density bank, including a focus on strong policies and criteria guiding where development is appropriate rather than solely on the number of units in the density bank. ^[1]

For subdivision, the minutes say the intention is to create policy that reduces subdivision potential to protect environmental and cultural values, while allowing subdivision through rezoning applications. ^[1]

The committee agreed to remove the requirement for a Temporary Use Permit for a detached secondary unit on Rural Residential (R2) lots. ^[1] It also agreed that secondary suites and small units would be permitted on R2 properties without a minimum property size, provided the lot is zoned R2. ^[1]

The committee agreed that cluster housing would be permitted in appropriate areas through rezoning under specific defined criteria, and supported exploring density bonuses for community benefit and dwelling units in the institutional zone. ^[1] Further discussion was scheduled on a potential Development Permit Area for Environmental and Heritage Protection, and the committee later requested that project be added to the future projects list. ^[1]

Spotted an error? corrections@denmanisland.co. We publish every correction.