How Does Rezoning Risk Affect Property Value in Chilliwack?

Rezoning supports property value when buyers believe a project can be built. In Chilliwack, fire-service constraints can weaken that confidence.

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Does the possibility of rezoning make your Chilliwack property worth more? Only when buyers believe the development it would allow is still realistic to build. Higher density can support a higher land value, but the project behind that value has to remain credible through review. The City of Chilliwack's July 7, 2026 agenda report on fire department constraints brings that distinction into focus. Council is being asked to make staff and council consider fire-service limits when reviewing zoning amendment applications for residential buildings with a single exit stair. Staff are also being directed to seek a local regulation from the Minister of Housing. For owners of apartment-capable sites, the question is how that review could affect the project a buyer is pricing. For most standard low-density properties, this is not an automatic value event. ## What the report changes about the rezoning question The report states that British Columbia amended the Building Code in August 2024 to allow certain residential buildings with a single egress stair under Subsection 3.2.10. Those provisions apply to limited-size multi-storey residential buildings up to six storeys, 18 m in height, with s