TOWNSHIP OF ESQUIMALT STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE: May 11, 2026 Report No. DEV-26-019
TO: Committee of the Whole
FROM: James Davison, Manager of Development Services
SUBJECT: Small Scale Multi-Unit Housing Options Follow Up - Targeted Consultation
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That the Committee of Whole recommend that Council direct staff to proceed with a Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH) workshop as outlined in staff report DEV-26-019 and bring back a summary of input and recommended bylaw/policy updates for Council consideration.
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Council has directed that staff initiate a project to review and potentially provide significant updates to the Small-Scale Multi-Family Housing related bylaws in Esquimalt. Council’s intent was to conduct thorough engagement and fact-finding in order to make policy decisions in this area in an expedited manner.
This report provides a basic framework for a one-day workshop that will provide an interactive forum that will allow all interested parties, including residents, developers, and designers, to gather in one place and discuss various issues that have arisen because of the implementation of SSMUH developments in Esquimalt. The workshop will be supported by an experienced facilitator and include a mixture of presentations providing a solid background on the issues related to SSMUH such as the legislative framework, design considerations, and financial feasibility. These presentations will be delivered by professionals with experience in the field. The presentations will be followed by various facilitated methods that allow participants to share ideas and concerns and learn from each other and work collaboratively towards issue identification and solutions. The facilitator will prepare a summary report following the workshop similar to the one prepared after the May 5, 2017, Affordably Housing Workshop hosted by the Township. Material will also be available on-line so that people who are unable to attend the workshop can provide comments that will help inform Council’s decision making.
BACKGROUND:
Council ratified the following Committee of the Whole recommendation on April 27, 2026:
“That Council direct staff to consider more extensive amendments to the Small-Scale Multi-Family Housing related bylaws, and that prior to bringing forward draft amendments, staff be directed to undertake targeted consultation with relevant advisory bodies, including the Advisory Planning Commission and Design Review Committee, as well as small-scale developers, and to include a focused opportunity for public input, along with clear visual examples illustrating how the combined regulations function in practice, to support Council decision-making and public understanding.”
The Local Government Act requires municipalities to enable Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH) in areas currently zoned for single-family or duplex housing. While Esquimalt cannot prevent SSMUH applications from proceeding, Council retains discretion over many implementation details (e.g., massing and height, setbacks, useable open space, landscaping and tree protection requirements, servicing expectations, and where permitted, to regulate parking). In addition, design guidelines related to form and character including guidelines related to neighbourhood overlook and privacy are also within the purview of Council to help mitigate negative impacts and improve outcomes for residents and future occupants.
This report outlines a pathway to achieve Council’s intent in an expedited manner. Staff propose a workshop framework to gather practical, implementation-focused input from the public (neighbours and prospective residents), the development industry, architectural/urban design/landscape architecture professionals, and financial stakeholders, to inform bylaw and process updates. Following the workshops, Council will be better able to direct staff to make any required changes to the Zoning bylaw and any other relevant bylaws to achieve the desired outcomes in the community.
Why a Workshop?
Workshops are an ideal consultative method for complex issues that involve a multitude of stakeholders. By bringing various stakeholders together they are able to better understand each other and then use that understanding to work together to identify issues and work collaboratively towards solutions. While workshops are great vehicles for dealing with complex issues, breaking down silos, and building trust, they also have several weaknesses such as not everyone who wants to attend will be able to attend, there may be overrepresentation by participants with a particular position, and some people are intimidated by the workshop format. In order to address some of the weaknesses, there will be an opportunity for people to view the material online and provide online responses.
Workshop Plan
The workshop will be facilitated by a neutral third-party consultant specializing in this kind of work. It would tentatively be structured as follows (the actual structure may differ to some degree):
9:00 - 9:30 a.m. Welcome and mingling. A series of 3 - 5 professionally produced hypothetical SSMUH designs will be produced illustrating various components of SSMUH (e.g. various heights, setbacks, open spaces, parking, and typologies) to give participants a framework from which to base discussions throughout the day. Each example will be confirmed to be economically viable by an independent consultant experienced in development finance. These designs will also be published on the Township’s website along with an ability to provide comments on the various designs.
9:30 - 10:15 a.m. Presentations by various professionals including an architect/designer, landscape architect/arborist, realtor (discuss market demand), and a finance professional who can give an overview of how a SSMUH proforma would work.
10:15 to 10:30 a.m. Coffee break
10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Panel discussion based on presentations with questions from the audience.
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Round Table Discussion on various themes (e.g. design and community integration, financial viability and housing affordability, and regulatory framework and approval pathways). Participants would rotate every 20 minutes so that that each participant has an opportunity to have dialogue with various other participants on each theme.
12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Lunch provided
1:30 to 1:45 p.m. Facilitator provides an overview of the morning and outlines the activities for the afternoon.
1:45 to 2:45 p.m. Working groups based on round table themes. Each group will come up with a list of potential solutions to issues identified in the morning. Solutions will need to be actionable based on the framework that Council has to work within.
2:45 - 3:00 p.m. Coffee Break
3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Working group presentations outlining proposed solutions.
4:00 - 4:15 p.m. Thanks and review of next steps.
ANALYSIS:
The consultation plan is designed to meet Council’s requirement to obtain public, financial, developer, and architectural input to meaningfully reduce the stated impacts on communities, while keeping the engagement focused on what Esquimalt can influence under the legislative SSMUH framework. The intent is to identify standards and process improvements that reduce impacts while still meeting legislative requirements.
Consultation objectives and principles
The workshop format is best suited for issues that require intensive collaborative problem-solving approaches such as SSMUH. It allows participants with different skills, perspectives, and experience to work together to identify problems and derive solutions. This format helps build relationships and produces creative solutions.
What is in scope (and out of scope)
All consultation, including the workshop, will be explicit that SSMUH enabling is required by provincial legislation and the Township cannot prevent SSMUH from occurring. As noted above, the workshop will therefore focus on implementation choices where local government typically has discretion, including:
• Form and character standards (e.g., maximum height within allowable ranges, step-backs, roof forms, façade articulation, entry orientation, and limits on perceived massing).
• Privacy and overlook mitigation (e.g., setbacks, window placement guidance, screening/landscaping, balcony location, and upper-level deck controls where permitted).
• Tree retention and landscaping (e.g., tree protection expectations, replacement ratios, soil volume, permeable area, and construction practices that reduce root damage).
• On-street parking and curb management (e.g., residential parking considerations, bike parking, and transportation demand management measures, consistent with engineering standards).
• Servicing and site design expectations (e.g., garbage/recycling, fire access, stormwater infiltration, frontage works, and safe access/egress).
• Process improvements to increase predictability and reduce conflict (improving plain-language guides, pre-application meetings, checklists, and standard conditions).
Out of scope for this engagement are requests to prohibit SSMUH, to reintroduce discretionary approvals that conflict with provincial requirements, or to set standards that would effectively prevent the forms of housing required to be permitted. Where feedback requests outcomes outside municipal authority, it will be documented and reported but will not be presented as implementable.
Advisory bodies: Members of both the Advisory Planning Commission (APC) and Design Review Committee (DRC) will be invited to the Workshop. In addition, staff will present the materials presented at the workshop to both the Advisory Planning Commission and the Design Review Committee for discussion. Recommendations from both the APC and the DRC will be forwarded to Council.
Internal departments: Staff will consult with internal departments (including Fire, Engineering, and Parks) to identify operational requirements and implementation considerations (e.g., fire access and hydrant coverage, servicing capacity and frontage works, stormwater management, curb/parking management, tree retention/urban forest impacts, and parks/trails interfaces). Departmental feedback will be incorporated into draft standards, checklists, and process guidance, and summarized alongside other engagement results.
OPTIONS:
Council has the following options for direction on the proposed targeted consultation for SSMUH implementation:
Option 1 (Staff recommended): Proceed with organizing a workshop in mid- to late-June.
This option directs staff to engage consultants and organize a workshop that will include a variety of stakeholders. The results of the workshop will be forwarded to Council to help inform implementable bylaw and process updates within the Township’s authority under the Local Government Act.
Draft resolution: That the Committee of the Whole recommend that Council direct staff to proceed with hiring the necessary consultants and organizing a SSMUH workshop as outlined in this report and bring back a summary of input and recommended bylaw/policy updates for Council consideration no later than July 2026.
Option 2: Proceed with a series of stakeholder focus groups.
This option would involve a series of facilitated focus groups with each of the major stakeholders (developers, residents, architects/designers, and financial analysts familiar with SSMUH pro formas.
Draft resolution: That the Committee of the Whole recommend that Council direct staff to proceed with a series of focus groups and bring back a summary of input and recommended bylaw/policy updates for Council consideration.
Option 3: Do not accept the staff approach and proceed with a reduced-scope engagement focused on required/referral inputs only.
This option limits engagement to a narrower process (e.g., internal technical review and referral to advisory bodies, with minimal public/stakeholder engagement). It may reduce staff/consultant effort in the short term but may also result in less detailed/representative input and reduced opportunity to proactively address neighbourhood interface issues and implementation risks.
Draft resolution: That the Committee of the Whole recommend that Council direct staff to undertake a reduced-scope engagement process for Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH) implementation limited to internal departmental review and referrals to the Advisory Planning Commission and Design Review Committee] and bring back recommended bylaw/policy updates for Council consideration.
COUNCIL PRIORITY:
Housing
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The proposed workshop will require a budget of between $25,000 and $30,000 to pay for consultants to organize and facilitate the workshop, prepare visual materials including indicative drawings, and prepare indicative pro formas. The funds will be reallocated from existing operating funds - specifically, the unused salary and benefits for the Planning Technician while the position was vacant from January 1 to May 1, 2026.
COMMUNICATIONS/ENGAGEMENT:
This report describes the communications/engagement portion of this project in detail.
TIMELINES & NEXT STEPS:
Depending on the availability of a facilitator and space, the workshop would occur in mid- to late-June.
Following the workshop, the facilitator will prepare a findings report that will be presented to Council. Council will then provide staff with direction regarding proposed amendments to the SSMFH provisions of the Zoning Bylaw and other impacted bylaws for Council’s consideration in September.
REPORT REVIEWED BY:
1. Bill Brown, Director of Development Services
2. Sarah Holloway, Manager of Corporate Services, Reviewed
3. Ian Irvine, Director of Finance, Reviewed
4. Dan Horan, Chief Administrative Officer, Concurrence
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
None.