On April 7, 2026, the BC government did something it rarely does: it overrode a municipal council and rewrote a district’s Official Community Plan. The target was West Vancouver. The issue was the Ambleside Centre Local Area Plan, a finished plan that council had stalled for months. The Province’s Order in Council forces West Vancouver to allow 3-to-16-storey buildings in the Ambleside commercial core — apartments, mixed-use retail, mid-rise density.
Headlines called it a housing victory. And it is — for the Ambleside commercial strip. But if you own an RS-zoned single-family lot in West Vancouver and you’re wondering whether multiplexes are coming to your street, this plan doesn’t answer that question. That’s a different fight, and West Vancouver is losing it too.
TL;DR
- April 7, 2026: BC government issued an Order in Council forcing West Vancouver to adopt the Ambleside Centre Local Area Plan, overriding a deadlocked council.
- What it allows: 3-4 storey buildings on Marine Drive, 5-6 storeys on 16th Street, 14-16 storeys on 17th Street. Housing mix is 60% apartments in mixed-use buildings, 20% mid-rise, 10% low-rise, 10% ground-oriented.
- What it does NOT do: bring multiplexes to single-family residential neighbourhoods. The plan covers the commercial centre only.
- The multiplex question is separate: West Vancouver claims only 222 of its ~14,000+ residential lots (1.6%) are subject to SSMUH/multiplex zoning. Bill 25 closed that loophole with a June 30, 2026 deadline. Council hasn’t directed staff to comply.
- The pattern is clear: the Province just proved it will override West Vancouver. When the Bill 25 deadline passes, expect the same treatment.
What the Province actually did on April 7
The Order in Council amended West Vancouver’s Official Community Plan to include the Ambleside Centre Local Area Plan. This is Stream 2 of a three-part planning process that’s been grinding through West Vancouver since 2022:
- Stream 1 (Apartment Areas): Adopted by council in July 2024. Done.
- Stream 2 (Commercial Centre): Developed by staff, public engagement completed, technical studies finished. Ready to go. Council withdrew it from the October 2025 agenda. Province forced it through April 7, 2026.
- Stream 3 (Neighbourhood Areas): Still pending. This is where residential single-family areas would be addressed — and it hasn’t started.
The plan was ready. Public engagement had already happened. Technical studies were done. The only thing missing was a council vote, and council was deadlocked 3-3. Mayor Mark Sager, who owns property in the Ambleside area, had a conflict of interest and couldn’t cast the tiebreaker.
So Housing Minister Christine Boyle stepped in: “Our children, grandchildren and seniors who grew up in and helped build this community should be able to find a home in the place they know and love.”
Why the Province lost patience
West Vancouver’s housing performance triggered this. Under provincial housing targets, the district was supposed to deliver 220 new housing units in Year 1. It delivered 58 — barely a quarter of the target.
The district also missed all three provincial directives by the December 31, 2025 deadline, covering development opportunities in both the Ambleside and Park Royal-Taylor Way areas. Zero of three directives completed. That kind of across-the-board non-compliance is what turns provincial “encouragement” into provincial orders.
The broader target: 1,432 completed units by September 2028. That breaks down to 854 studio/one-bedroom units, 256 two-bedroom units, and 321 three-bedroom units. West Vancouver is nowhere close to a trajectory that gets there.
What the Ambleside plan actually builds
The rezoning allows density along the commercial core, not across residential neighbourhoods. Here’s the height map:
| Location | Allowed Height | Building Type |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Drive & Bellevue Avenue | 3-4 storeys | Mixed-use retail + residential |
| 16th Street | 5-6 storeys | Mid-rise residential |
| 17th Street | 14-16 storeys | High-rise residential towers |
The housing mix target: 60% apartments in mixed-use buildings, 20% mid-rise apartments, 10% low-rise apartments, and 10% ground-oriented units.
This is commercial-core densification. It’s condos and rental apartments above shops on Marine Drive. It’s mid-rise buildings replacing surface parking lots. It’s tall towers in a very specific two-block radius around 17th Street.
It is not multiplexes. It is not fourplexes replacing bungalows in British Properties. It doesn’t touch the RS-zoned single-family neighbourhoods where most West Vancouver residents live.
So where are the multiplexes? The SSMUH question.
This is where it gets interesting for property owners.
West Vancouver has been the most creative municipality in BC at avoiding multiplex zoning. When Bill 44 required cities to allow small-scale multi-unit housing on single-family lots, West Vancouver found a loophole: their RS1-5 and RS7-10 zones already permit a single-family home plus a secondary suite plus a coach house. Because the zones weren’t technically “restricted” to single-family-only, West Vancouver argued they fell outside the legislation.
The result: only 222 parcels out of roughly 14,000+ residential lots — about 1.6% — were deemed subject to SSMUH. For comparison, Vancouver applied multiplex zoning to over 95% of its residential lots.
Council then voted against adopting even those minimal SSMUH bylaw amendments on May 27, 2024. The Province sent a non-compliance notice on July 25, 2024, and West Vancouver backed down — adopting the bylaw on August 12, 2024. But the bylaw only covered those 222 lots.
Bill 25 closed the loophole — and the clock is ticking
Bill 25 (Housing and Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2025) passed on November 27, 2025. It was written specifically to prevent the kind of creative compliance West Vancouver pioneered. The legislation expanded the definition of “Restricted Zone” to close the secondary-suite-plus-coach-house exemption.
The new deadline: June 30, 2026. That’s 73 days from the time the Ambleside order was issued.
As of March 2026, West Vancouver staff presented a working approach to Bill 25 compliance at a regular council meeting. Council received the report “for information” but did not direct staff to prepare zoning bylaw amendments. Sound familiar? It’s the exact same procedural stall they used on the Ambleside plan before the Province forced it through.
The pattern is impossible to miss
Here’s the timeline that every West Vancouver property owner should study:
Ambleside Centre Plan:
- Plan developed and completed by staff ✓
- Public engagement finished ✓
- Council stalls / withdraws from agenda (October 2025) ✓
- Province issues Order in Council (April 7, 2026) ✓
SSMUH / Multiplex Zoning (Bill 25):
- Staff presented compliance approach ✓
- Council receives “for information” without directing action ✓ (March 2026)
- Council stalls / misses deadline — ???? (June 30, 2026)
- Province issues ministerial order — ???? (July/August 2026)
The Province just demonstrated it will override West Vancouver council when the district drags its feet on housing. Bill 25 gives Housing Minister Christine Boyle the explicit authority to impose SSMUH zoning by ministerial order if a municipality doesn’t comply by the deadline. West Vancouver hasn’t complied. The deadline is June 30.
Connect those dots.
What this means for West Vancouver lot owners
If you own an RS-zoned lot in West Vancouver, you’re in one of two situations:
If your lot is in the Ambleside commercial area: the plan is now in force. Mixed-use development is permitted. The value calculation just changed, and density is your friend.
If your lot is in a residential neighbourhood: multiplexes aren’t zoned yet, but the writing is on every wall. Bill 25 requires West Vancouver to allow multiplexes on lots that were previously single-family-only. The deadline is June 30, 2026. Council hasn’t acted. The Province has already shown — 11 days ago — that it will act for them.
The 222-lot exemption that made West Vancouver the “last multiplex-free luxury haven” is about to expand dramatically. Bill 25 doesn’t just close the loophole — it requires the district to enable multi-unit housing in zones that have historically been restricted to single-family dwellings.
The District of North Vancouver tried the same thing on April 13, 2026 — formally refusing Bill 25 SSMUH implementation. We analysed why that won’t hold either. West Vancouver’s Ambleside override is the proof.
The quarterly leash
One detail from the Ambleside order that signals where this is heading: the Province now requires West Vancouver to submit quarterly progress reports on both the Ambleside Apartment area and Park Royal-Taylor Way initiatives. That’s not a one-time intervention — it’s ongoing oversight.
When (not if) the Province also imposes Bill 25 compliance, expect the same reporting structure. West Vancouver won’t just get multiplex zoning — it’ll get a provincial supervisor checking the homework every three months.
What a West Vancouver lot owner should do right now
Don’t wait for council to tell you what’s coming. The Province already has.
- Check whether your lot qualifies for multiplex under Bill 25. The 222-lot map is about to be replaced by something much broader. Lots within 400m of frequent transit can go up to 6 units.
- Run a proforma. West Vancouver land values are high, but so are construction costs. Not every lot pencils. Check your property’s multiplex potential on VanPlex before making assumptions.
- Watch the June 30, 2026 deadline. If council doesn’t act, the Province will — probably by late July or August, based on the Ambleside timeline.
- Read the existing analysis. Our deep dive into West Vancouver’s multiplex-free status covers the exemption mechanics in detail. Most of that changes under Bill 25.
The Ambleside plan is about apartments in the town centre. The multiplex question is about your neighbourhood. Both are heading the same direction. The only variable is whether council does it or the Province does it for them.
VanPlex Research Team | PlexRank™ | Profit with Multiplex
