Vancouver about to eliminate its single-family residential zoning rules
Vancouver about to eliminate its single-family residential zoning rules
Any new single house that is built would only be allowed to go to the equivalent of 60 per cent of the lot’s area
It's another sad half-measure.
Cramming more matchstick shoeboxes into the backyard isn't going to make enough of a dent: instead of putting 4 more miniature townhouses back there, bulldoze the lot until it's contiguous and put up another tower.
Bungalows are ancient history; a fad from a by-gone picket-fence boomer era. We need the parkland back and we need the housing; and the only way we'll get both is by ensuring all housing is dense a-f so we can reserve for shared green-space.
Let's stop messing around.
Cramming more people here is not the solution. Making it more appealing to live elsewhere in lower density and lower cost regions of our vast country is.
Consider the following: a government incentive to business to subsidize or lower taxation for people who can work remotely.
If I’m a web designer or IT expert have the government subsidize my employment or lower my taxation for living outside of a major metropolis. Work out of the interior somewhere in a town of <50,000 people. But to get the subsidy the employer must commit to maintain the hire for a minimum of 5 years.
Yeah no, we need density.
You know what those small towns you're thinking of are? Urban sprawl. The entire town is urban sprawl. No towers. Single family detached homes everywhere. No good public transit because there's not enough density to support it. Rentals are 80% basements.
Moving more people into those towns without pushing for densification is going to lead too ... You guessed it, even more urban sprawl!
Is that really the path you think we should be going down?
I mean, good thought, but it’s not gonna go well at public hearings. NIMBYs gonna NIMBY.
Isn’t the goal to remove public hearings? Why should a neighbour get to decide what you do with your property. That’s what OCPs are for.
Even if it's not enough, it's still good to celebrate even small victories like these.
Vancouver could also use more mixed-use commercial/residential. More small corner stores, restaurants, etc. dotting the city.