Vancouver city council last night approved a pilot project in laneway housing. It’s still too soon to know all the details of the plan. However, it looks as though the City of Vancouver will reassess the project once the first 100 laneway houses have been built. Public consultation will continue on issues such as parking and building heights.

Smallworks.ca

Council approved laneway housing citywide, rather than opting to go neighborhood by neighborhood. As many as 70,000 houses in Vancouver would be able to accomodate laneway housing. It would appear that these units will not be strata titled, but rather rental housing.

Personally, I think that this is an excellent initiative by the city. I think that this will go a long way to help with the issue of affordability in the city, as well as reduce the environmental footprint of residents. Vancouver has chosen to take leadership on this issue in North America, and I’m excited to see where this might lead.

Vancouver Sun article reporting on the approval

Georgia Straight article discussing the issue prior to the vote

What IS Laneway Housing?

After writing this original post on Vancouver laneway housing, I received many inquiries from readers wonder what exactly it was. As a result, I wrote this post describing exactly what is laneway housing.

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If you are thinking of buying or selling, or just have questions, contact me here or send me a quick email.

Copyright © 2008 by  Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor with Royal LePage Westside ”Vancouver Approves Laneway Housing”

On June 10th, the Vancouver city council officially (and unanimously) passed the EcoDensity Charter. This unanimous vote took place despite the opposition by more than twenty local community groups.

 Most of what is contained in the charter has a long way to go before we see it put into affect. These include such actions as: new types of arterial mid-rise buildings, more options for rental secondary suites, and developing options for back-yard and laneway housing. While the city has indicated that they want to see these in principle, the details still need to be made clear.

 That being said, two items from the charter were put immediately into action. This included the rezoning policies for greener buildings, as well as “greener larger sites”. According to the EcoDensity website, this means that applications for rezoning buildings will have to meet a minimum LEED standard. Also, when applying rezoning for tracts of land of 2 acres or more, sustainability measures will be required.

 Our city is now committed, through the charter, to make environmental sustainability a primary goal in all city planning decisions while keeping in mind affordability and livability.

 Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor with Royal LePage Westside

These days, we have far more options when searching for a new home than previous house-hunters. In fact, one of the best ways that today’s house-hunter can be certain of finding a healthy, green home is by looking for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Homes built with this certification are built to exacting standards of design, construction and materials.

If you can’t find a LEED certified home within your budget, another option might be to look at older buildings. Yes, that’s right. There are numerous benefits to purchasing an older home. First of all, you reduce the ecological footprint required to produce your housing. Consider it housing recycling. The buildings can offer many other benefits such as:

• central location (think lower transportation requirements)
• the beauty of aging and weathering materials (inlaid hardwood flooring, glass door knobs, wood fireplace, etc)
• charming architectural features (coved ceilings, arched doorways, etc)
• low-dust heating systems (such as radiant heating)
• lower price point than new construction.

 When looking for a new home, these tips can help you to find the right healthy and green condo:

• Specify key areas that you are interested in residing in.
  • Spend time getting to know the city and find the communities that you like the most. Get a feel for the restaurants, cafe’s, groceries and other amenities in the community. The less you have to (or want to) travel outside of your new community the better. There’s less stress for you commuting, and less stress on the environment too.
• Communicate your priorities to your Realtor.
  • A Realtor is there to help you find your perfect home. Explain to your Realtor that you are searching for a home with as many green features as possible.
• Use your eyes
  • To minimize heating and lighting costs, consider the impact of the properties exposure to light. The best exposure is to the south, followed by east. Selecting either of these exposures will mean you get the benefit of more sun in the winter months and less overheating in the summer. Also, look for:
    • big windows
    • outdoor space with balcony or patio
    • sliding glass doors
    • space between neighboring buildings (giving you privacy and access to light)
    • views to a varied skyline with water, trees and mountains
• Follow your nose
  • You’ll find you can get a lot of information about the health of a home from your olfactory senses. In the long run, you’ll find the most positive impacts from a home that has no odours, or just the smell of natural, seasoned materials. Take a moment to close the windows, turn off the fans and then see what happens.
  • Watch for the smell of chemicals (emitted by paints, particle board, glues, etc) as well as musty odours.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recently released these 10 steps that all of us can take to help keep our planet healthy. Some of the side benefits to adopting some of these changes include saving money, healthier living, and increasing our homes resale value!

Don’t drive, use transit

Switching some of your local travel from a car to public transit can save up to 230 kg of CO2 per year for every 1,000 KM you drive.

Think Smaller

Dropping your family car a size or two can eliminate 1,100 - 2,600 kg of CO2 each year. This change will also save you hundreds of dollars at the gas pump.

Stay Grounded

For shorter family trips, taking the bus or the train instead of travelling by plane can benefit both the planet as well as your wallet.

Reduce Home Heating Bills

If you live in an older home, improving it’s energy efficiency (with new windows, insulation, a high-efficiency furnace, etc) or even just lowering the thermostat by a degree or two can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Reconsider Your Space Needs

Larger homes use considerably more energy. The next time you consider moving, ask yourself if a smaller home might better fit your needs.

Buy Green

When buying appliances, choosing the most energy-efficient models can save up to 400kg of CO2 per year.

Stay Out of Hot Water

Wrapping your hot water heater in a thermal blanket and keeping it turned down to 50 C can save a family of four 600kg of CO2 per year.

Eat Your Vegetables

Adopting a less meat-intensive diet can have a significant impact on your greenhouse gas emissions, plus benefit your family’s health.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Cutting your garbage production by just one bag a week can save your family 300kg of CO2 per year.

You Have the Power

In response to consumer demand, many utility companies are introducing Green Power options at a premium price. By switching to green power, you can reduce your home’s CO2 emissions.

There are many benefits to making your home more energy efficient. It can reduce energy use, drafts, summer overheating, moisture and condensation problems, personal health issues, noise from outside and greenhouse gas emissions. Making only a few of these changes can lead to signifant increases in your quality of life, as well as those of future generations.

For those of us that are interested in real estate in this city, there’s a new website that’s worth checking out. The city recently adopted a new strategic plan for development in the city which they have termed EcoDensity.

In a nutshell, EcoDensity is an attempt by the city to reduce our ecological footprint. They are attempting to work out how to allow the city to continue to grow sustainably, simultaneously maintaining our “livability” and increasing affordable housing.

 These are all goals that most residents of the city can agree upon, but the challenge is a large one. At this point, the plan is in it’s early stages. There are opportunities for public input as the process is currently in the consultation stage. If you are interested in shaping this city’s future, this might be a great opportunity.

The website can be found here:

http://www.vancouver-ecodensity.ca

There’s an interesting new product available in Vancouver.

Have you always thought of bamboo as hard, rather than soft and supple? Well, there’s a local designer who is offering bamboo towels which the Georgia Straight calls “luscious”. These towels are apparently four times as absorbent as cotton. They’re also hypoallergenic and antibacterial. Most importantly, however, “bamboo has one of the tiniest eco-footprints around”.

 You can purchase them at Jacana Interiors (2435 Granville St., Vancouver, BC) for $12 and $28.