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With the rise of Short-Term Rentals (STRs) in Whitehorse, concerns about potential impacts to long-term housing access grow. The City is reviewing opportunities and challenges presented by STRs in our community. The City is also reviewing legislation, best practices, and lessons learned from other communities to understand how best to manage STRs in Whitehorse. This could involve developing regulations around how and where STRs can operate in the community.
STRs are generally defined as rental units or rooms in a house rented out by owners for a short period, typically 30 days or less. STRs include rental units or spaces that are often listed online on platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com. They are managed by owners or by a local rental management company. STRs differ from traditional bed and breakfasts, because there are currently no requirements for the owner or operator to live on site. As well, entire homes with kitchen facilities (vs individual rooms only) can be rented out.
Earlier this year, the City’s Housing and Land Development Advisory Committee submitted a report to Council recommending several STRs management approaches. The report included developing specific use regulations, developing definitions for different types of STRs, where in the city they would be allowed, and requirements for business licenses. This survey is an opportunity to provide input on the recommendations and share additional ideas.
As any new regulatory approach will likely involve changes to the Zoning Bylaw, this review is being completed concurrently with the Zoning Bylaw Rewrite project.
The City wants to better understand your experiences related to Short Term Rentals (STR) in Whitehorse. We’re inviting residents, STR operators, local employers and tourism operators to take our survey.
Access the survey HERE.
The survey will take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. If you have any questions or concerns, or require accommodation to complete this survey, please reach out to the project leads listed on this page or planning@whitehorse.ca.
The survey will be open until September 2, 2024.
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At their regular meeting on Monday, April 22, 2024, Council adopted Bylaw 2024-16, a bylaw to amend the Zoning Bylaw to enable a wider range of opportunities for residential development. The new regulations are summarized as follows:
- Allow up to four (4) units per lot in all urban ‘single detached’ residential zones;
- Relax site coverage and setbacks in some zones where additional units are provided;
- Relax living and garden suite regulations to allow them in more places:
- Allow suites in RR zone
- Allow suites in duplex, triplex, and townhouse housing
- Allow two suites on any lot where suites are allowed
- Enable more units in RCM – Comprehensive Residential Multiple Family and RCM3 – Cottage Cluster Homes zones; and
- Relax some parking regulations:
- Eliminate visitor parking and loading space requirements for multiple housing in commercial zones
- Reduce parking requirements for living/garden suites
These amendments will be incorporated into a new consolidation of the Zoning Bylaw, to be released shortly. We will also be updating our application forms and handouts in the coming weeks.
You can read our guide to the new regulations here.
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A copy of the Public Hearing Report is now available. Read it here.
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On February 26, 2024, City Council gave first reading to a bylaw to amend the Zoning Bylaw that, if adopted, will enable more housing to be developed throughout Whitehorse. The proposed amendments include:
- Allow up to four (4) units per lot in all urban ‘single detached’ residential zones;
- Relax site coverage and setbacks in some zones where additional units are provided;
- Relax living and garden suite regulations to allow them in more places:
- Allow suites in RR zone
- Allow suites in duplex, triplex, and townhouse housing
- Allow two suites on any lot where suites are allowed
- Enable more units in RCM – Comprehensive Residential Multiple Family and RCM3 – Cottage Cluster Homes zones; and
- Relax some parking regulations:
- Eliminate visitor parking and loading space requirements for multiple housing in commercial zones
- Reduce parking requirements for living/garden suites
A public hearing was held on March 25, 2024. The public hearing is now closed, and no further input on this bylaw can be submitted to Council. City staff presented a Public Hearing Report to Council on April 15, 2024. Council will make a decision on the proposed amendments April 22, 2024.
For additional details on what these proposed amendments mean, please review our Guide to Proposed Changes.
Still have questions? Ask a question right here in our Zoning Questions Corner, so others can see as well.
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The Round 1 Engagement Summary report from the first round of public engagement is now available. The report provides a summary of the input received from 417 community survey responses and 10 targeted interviews with interested and affected parties and rights holders. Respondents provided their input on topics including housing, parking, urban design, and transportation.
This feedback will be used to inform the draft Zoning Bylaw, which is expected to be completed and presented for public and interested party feedback in fall 2024.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey and interviews - your contributions and continued interest in the project are appreciated!
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Our planning team has put together a brief document summarizing the history of zoning in Whitehorse. This document looks back at all of the City's previous Zoning Bylaws, starting in 1952, and tracks how zoning has changed over the decades to reflect an evolving community and changes in planning best practices that are reflective of broader trends throughout North America.
History of Zoning in Whitehorse
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The survey is now closed. Thank you to everyone who completed the survey – we received 417 responses!
We are now preparing a What We Heard report summarizing the input received through the survey as well as interviews done by the consultant. The results will be provided later in February.
Stay tuned for more information on the second round of public engagement. We hope you can join us!
Your feedback, along with interested party feedback and best practices data, will be used to inform the draft Zoning Bylaw. The draft bylaw will then be presented in Fall 2024, for public and interested party feedback, to help the City finalize the bylaw for Council review and approval.
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The City of Whitehorse is forming an advisory group to assist the City and its Consultant, ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd., with the Zoning Bylaw Rewrite project. The group will meet periodically with the Consultant to provide information and advice to ISL as they work through the stages of the project.
The application period to join this group has closed and members have been selected. Thank you to everyone who applied to join this group.
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There will be a first round of amendments to the Zoning Bylaw to address immediate housing challenges in the community before focusing on the entire Zoning Bylaw content. Housing related amendments will be developed based on recommendations provided by the Housing and Land Development Advisory Committee. These initial amendments will address short- and medium-term housing challenges, which will provide the basis for longer-term housing related solutions to be developed in the complete Zoning Bylaw Rewrite in Phase 2.