Courtenay Annual Report 2025 draft

Development activity

Land use and development applications

In 2025, development permit applications related to form and character, environmental considerations and steep slopes declined slightly, while applications for tree cutting permits increased. Building permit activity also continued to evolve. Although total building permit applications decreased compared to earlier years, multi residential development has increased significantly since 2023, while permits for single-family dwellings have continued to decline. This pattern reflects broader policy direction toward compact growth and more diverse housing forms.

Development activity in Courtenay continued to shift in 2025, reflecting recent provincial housing legislation and a longer-term move toward higher-density forms of development. The overall number of land use applications remained lower than in previous years, following zoning amendments adopted in 2024 that rezoned 16 restrictive zones to Residential Small-Scale, Multi-Unit Housing (R-SSMUH). These changes enabled R-SSMUH housing as-of-right and reduced the need for individual rezoning applications.

Micro-units on England Avenue

Applications and permits

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Development permits (including variances)

38

36

34

33

31

Rezoning applications

9

9

6

7

9

Combined OCP and rezoning applications

4

2

0

1

2

Sidewalk patio permits

7

3

5

6

3

Sign permits

42

52

33

45

31

Tree cutting permits

19

22

21

20

28

Building permit applications

335

216

238

184

178

26 | City of Courtenay