Why Simply Building More Units Isn’t the Answer: A Closer Look at the Province’s SSMUH Mandate
- treybellcouncil
- 2d
- 3 min read
This recent article in the North Shore Daily Post highlights concerns that many residents here in the District of North Vancouver have been quietly voicing for months. I share the view expressed in the piece: we absolutely need more housing options, but we cannot ignore the long-term consequences of how we deliver them.
Right now, the Province’s Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH) mandate is requiring municipalities to update zoning rules in single-family and duplex zones to allow at least 3–4 units, and up to 6 units near well served transit areas, subject to exemptions. Whether local councils agree or not, these changes must be implemented. On paper, that might look like progress. In practice, it removes the ability of local governments to shape growth in a way that reflects the realities of their own communities.
In North Vancouver, this doesn’t feel like thoughtful, community-driven planning. It feels rushed, it feels imposed, and it risks creating long-term challenges in exchange for short-term housing targets.
1. The Loss of Green Space and Tree Canopy
One of the first things people notice when redevelopment happens under these new rules is how much green space disappears. Yards shrink. Mature trees come down. Garden space is replaced with larger building footprints and paved areas. Trees aren’t just decorative extras, they cool our streets during heat waves, support bird life, improve air quality, and provide the kind of natural shade that makes neighbourhoods feel welcoming. Once mature trees are gone, they aren’t replaced overnight. We’re talking about decades of growth lost in a single permit cycle. If we aren’t careful, we risk turning leafy neighbourhoods into harder, hotter spaces that feel more crowded and less livable.
2. Parking and Street Congestion
More units typically mean more households. More households often mean more vehicles, especially in communities like ours where many families rely on cars for work, school, and daily life. At the same time, in transit-oriented areas, the Province has moved to remove minimum parking requirements and limited municipal parking rules. The result is predictable: increased competition for on-street parking in neighbourhoods that were never designed for this level of density. For young families, seniors, tradespeople, and caregivers, this isn’t a minor inconvenience. It affects safety, accessibility, and daily quality of life. Planning should make neighbourhoods function better, not more strained.
3. Infrastructure That Wasn’t Built for SSMUH
Perhaps the biggest issue, and the one discussed in the article, is infrastructure capacity. Much of our local infrastructure was designed for lower-density neighbourhoods, and upgrades can be costly. The infrastructure was not designed for multiple units per lot across entire communities.
Upgrading the infrastructure is expensive. Those costs don’t disappear. They get passed along to builders, to buyers, and ultimately to taxpayers. The article points out that current bylaw rules can add significant additional costs per SSMUH project. That doesn’t exactly scream “affordability.”
When growth outpaces infrastructure readiness, the consequences show up in overloaded systems, increased traffic pressure, and long-term maintenance costs that residents will carry.
A Better Way Forward
We do need more housing. That’s not in dispute. My key critique is that we also need to protect the very qualities that make North Vancouver such a special place to live: tree-lined streets
, functional neighbourhoods, and infrastructure that actually works.
A one-size-fits-all provincial mandate may increase theoretical supply numbers, but it does not automatically create livable communities.
Instead of dictating housing density from Victoria, the Province should be working in genuine partnership with municipalities by providing infrastructure funding, respecting local planning processes, and allowing communities to shape how density is integrated.
We can increase housing without sacrificing green space.
We can add supply without overwhelming streets.
We can grow responsibly.
The goal shouldn’t be simply to fit more units onto a lot. It should be to build communities that continue to thrive, not just today, but decades from now.
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