OneCity pitches corner stores, cafes, and home-based businesses across Vancouver | Daily Hive

Example of a legal backyard restaurant on a residential property in Corona, California. (Barra De Pan)

OneCity Vancouver is proposing a major loosening of the rules for small businesses set by Vancouver’s municipal government, with a plan that would make it potentially easier for residents to operate everything from cafes and bike repair shops to hair salons, art studios, corner stores, backyard businesses, and other home-based businesses within residential neighbourhoods.

Ahead of the October 2026 civic election, mayoral candidate William Azaroff announced the platform promise today as the first piece of OneCity’s Local Economy Action Plan, arguing Vancouver’s zoning and licensing rules make it unnecessarily difficult for people to start small businesses close to where they live.

“Right now, it’s illegal if you want to open a bike repair shop in your alley — that’s ridiculous,” said Azaroff in a statement.

“We need to grow our economy from the laneway up, not just the head-office down. We should trust our neighbours to do good things, in small ways, that help each other.”

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Called the “Good Business Starts at Home” plan, the strategy would expand the kinds of commercial activities permitted in residential areas and make it easier for residents to operate relatively simple, low-impact businesses and services from their homes.

OneCity suggests that could include people providing services such as hair styling or repair work from their homes, along with more conventional neighbourhood businesses such as small grocery stores, bakeries, cafes, florists, barber shops, pharmacies, and bike repair shops.

Even if the City of Vancouver loosens its zoning and business licensing regulations, some types of service-based businesses would still require approvals from other levels of government or non-municipal regulatory bodies. Food businesses such as cafes and bakeries would still require health approval and/or a food service permit from Vancouver Coastal Health, which also regulates personal service businesses such as hair salons and licenses certain child-care facilities. Businesses serving liquor or selling cannabis would remain subject to provincial licensing through B.C.’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch, while pharmacies require licensing through the College of Pharmacists of B.C.

The party also states that new neighbourhood stores should be particularly encouraged around schools, parks, public transit, and seniors’ housing, where residents could benefit from having more everyday services within walking distance.

The proposal would also loosen restrictions on small cultural and community spaces, including rehearsal rooms, art studios, galleries, community kitchens, and maker spaces.

At the same time, OneCity notes that businesses operating within residential areas would still be subject to rules covering issues such as noise, garbage, accessibility, and operating hours.

Unlike Vancouver’s existing live-work units, which are specifically zoned or approved to combine residential and commercial workspace, OneCity’s proposal would allow a broader range of businesses to operate as an accessory use within ordinary homes and residential neighbourhoods that were not designed or designated as live-work properties.

Another component of the plan would simplify permits for temporary businesses and events, potentially allowing vacant storefronts, plazas, libraries, and other underused civic spaces to host pop-up shops, markets, food vendors, and entrepreneurs testing new business ideas.

Example of a corner store/cafe in Vancouver. (Le Marché St. George)

The party argues Vancouver’s existing land uses have left many residential neighbourhoods with relatively few places where residents can buy groceries, access services, or run businesses without travelling to a designated commercial street.

High commercial rents, particularly in central Vancouver, can also create a significant barrier for entrepreneurs, artists, and non-profit groups that cannot afford a typical commercial space with a storefront.

If OneCity’s plan were adopted by Vancouver City Council, City staff would be directed to develop an “Enabling the Neighbourhood Economy Action Plan” within one year.

OneCity is proposing to test the new approach first in several types of neighbourhoods, including an area experiencing the displacement of existing businesses because of rising costs, an outer part of Vancouver with relatively few nearby shops and services, and a rapidly growing apartment corridor. Citywide zoning and licensing changes would then be brought forward within two years.

OneCity city councillor candidate Frances Bula asserts the changes could give residents a lower-cost way to turn a skill or small business idea into a source of income.

“This will help regular people get ahead,” said Bula. “Whether you’re a hairstylist cutting hair in your basement or want to serve coffee out of your garage, you can start small, expand, and everyone wins.”

Last month, after a marathon public hearing that attracted overwhelming opposition from local residents, OneCity city councillor Lucy Maloney cast the sole vote of support for City of Vancouver staff’s proposed Villages Plan, which would have introduced neighbourhood-serving commercial spaces with shops, restaurants, cafes, and other businesses and services to 17 existing low-density residential areas across Vancouver. That plan, rejected in a 10-1 vote, was also accompanied by the introduction of new low-rise residential density around the new retail areas.

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