Multiplex development in Grand Boulevard, North Vancouver

The City of North Vancouver adopted its Ground-Oriented Zone on December 8, 2025 (Bylaw 9137), bringing most of the City's low-density lots into a framework that allows three to six small-scale homes where one house stood before. Grand Boulevard was not in that first round. The City cited heritage considerations and committed to a separate, more careful process before extending the zoning to the neighbourhood.

That process is underway. Council advanced a second-round bylaw in late January 2026 covering roughly 410 previously excluded lots, including parts of Grand Boulevard and adjacent streets, with a provincial deadline of June 30, 2026. There is public consultation and a formal public hearing before Council votes, so the final rules are not yet confirmed, but the direction is clear: Grand Boulevard is coming into small-scale housing zoning, with design guidelines meant to reflect the neighbourhood's character.

Under the SSMUH framework the City's bylaw implements, lots of 280 m² or smaller support up to three units and larger lots up to four; lots over 280 m² within 400 metres of the R2 RapidBus or 240 can support up to six, at a floor-space ratio of 1.0, with a three-storey cap throughout. The critical variable on Grand Boulevard is whether your specific property carries a heritage listing, because that can change what is permitted and how the City reviews your application.

Grand Boulevard was laid out in the early 1900s as a prestige subdivision, with unusually wide lots and a concentration of early-twentieth-century character homes. The central boulevard park is recognized on heritage registers as a community heritage asset, and the neighbourhood is described in City planning documents as a heritage character area. Those are planning-level recognitions, not blanket statutory protections, individual lots are not automatically blocked from development simply by being in the neighbourhood.

But some individual properties carry their own heritage listings, and those follow different rules. Under Bill 44, heritage-designated properties can be exempted from small-scale housing requirements or treated differently, and a listing, covenant, or designation at the lot level can change whether the standard rules apply. This is not a reason to rule out a project, it is a reason to check your specific lot before drawing any plans. We run that check at the start of every Grand Boulevard feasibility review.

The practical reality for most Grand Boulevard properties is that lot size works in your favour. Many of these sites are substantially larger than a standard Metro Vancouver lot, which means a four-unit multiplex has room for genuine outdoor space, individual front doors, and a massing that sits comfortably beside its neighbours. The City has signalled its intent to consult on design guidelines that support retaining and adapting character homes within the new zoning, rather than making demolition the only path to density.

The most useful thing you can do right now is understand exactly what your lot qualifies for, not the neighbourhood in general, but your specific address. The zoning is still being finalized and the heritage design guidelines are being developed through consultation before the June 2026 vote. Getting into the process early, with a clear feasibility picture, means you are not scrambling once the bylaw passes.

In a GP/LP partnership with Venture Pacific, you contribute your land and we carry the rest, design, heritage pre-consultation where relevant, the development and building permit applications, construction financing, and the build. You are a limited partner contributing land equity into a structured development, with a written agreement that sets out how the project is managed and where your equity sits.