In June 2026, New Westminster council adopted its Infill Housing Program and did something structurally interesting: instead of waiting for applications, it pre-zoned roughly 3,000 low-density properties in one motion. About 1,900 received entitlements for up to four units and about 1,100 for up to six. If you own a single-family lot in New Westminster, your property's development ceiling was very likely decided last month, whether you noticed or not.
What pre-zoning changes
Under the usual SSMUH pattern, a city amends its bylaw and owners work out what applies to them. Pre-zoning flips the burden: the city has already assigned each property its entitlement. There is no site-specific rezoning to apply for, no public hearing to survive. The forms on the table range from duplexes and triplexes through quadraplexes, multiplexes, laneway houses, and side-by-side townhouses, at up to three storeys, with multiple principal buildings permitted on one lot.
What still stands between you and a permit
A Development Permit. The pre-zoning settles what you may build; the DP reviews how it looks and performs, against the city's design and sustainability guidelines. That is a real review with real timelines, and the practical advice is the same as everywhere: design to the guidelines from the first sketch and the review stays short.
The Queensborough exception
One neighbourhood is carved out entirely. The city determined Queensborough's water, sewer, and geotechnical conditions need further study before density is added, and the province granted a compliance extension to May 4, 2029 for that area. Queensborough owners are not in the 3,000; that is a file to watch, not a project to start.
What to do if you own here
Find out which pool your lot landed in. The difference between a four-unit and a six-unit entitlement is the difference between two very different pro formas, and the assignment was made property by property. That confirmation is exactly what a feasibility check establishes first.
Shortcut: text Dawar directly at 604-808-3797 with your address. He answers his own phone, and he'll tell you straight what your lot allows. No form needed.