Hello New Haven #Yimbytown2025
Vancouver, BC Co-owner & Lead Designer Lanefab Design/Build B.Eng M.Arch Build beautiful. Build for a livable climate. www.Lanefab.com #ThickWallsAreSexy / #SingleStair / #ElectrifyEverything / #Passivhaus / #NetPositive
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Hello New Haven #Yimbytown2025
6. Help save some of the weird little storefronts and independent businesses by shifting redevelopment pressure off the arterials
...now off to New Haven for #Yimbytown2025
The Empire State looks a bit small now
Bike / Park Oriented Development (BPOD?) ! A motion from OneCity councilor @lucymaloney.bsky.social aims to end the apartment ban next to bike streets and parks! We need liveable density on quiet leafy streets. Don’t like arterial density? Want alternatives to towers? Speak in support sept 17
LA’s firefighter union has come out with a four-page letter opposing single-stair buildings. I’m going to respond to a few of the points within it. 🧵
Here's where you can sign up to speak (in person, or via phone) Unfortunately I won't be in town, as I'll be in Connecticut for the YIMBYtown conference... vancouver.ca/your-governm...
Oh yes, all throughout europe and most of the rest of the world they allow party-wall single stair buildings. The best ones have shallow floor plates (~35' to 45' max) and adjacent green space / courtyards. Just follow @holz-bau.bsky.social and he'll talk your head off about it.
I've done a lot of iterations over the years as we've advocated for these housing options, but in this version I'm looking at stepping in the side yard setback where it is adjacent to single family front yards. It also provides a bit of transparency to the stair and entrance.
Oh I’ve got lots of floor plans. This one is still fairly schematic. bsky.app/profile/lane...
It's a rendering of one of our single-stair prototypes
5. Density needs to scale up with land value. If your 50x122 lot is worth $3.5m, then you need 2 to 3 FSR for missing middle condos or rental units to pencil out. We’re happy to keep building higher end houses & duplexes on these lots, but the city should get more out of each tear down.
4. Allow more people to live next to existing parks and schools on quiet streets (like in the West End) … where the air is much less polluted compared to only putting townhouses right on Oak St or apartments on Kingsway.
Why this motion when we just adopted Plexes citywide? 1. A lot of land is still too expensive. 1FSR plexes can’t outcompete ‘mansions’. 2. Plexes (like single family and townhouses) aren’t accessible. 3. Single-stair mini towers could have more green space than plexes or big single family.
Council Motion council.vancouver.ca/20250917/doc...
Bike / Park Oriented Development (BPOD?) ! A motion from OneCity councilor @lucymaloney.bsky.social aims to end the apartment ban next to bike streets and parks! We need liveable density on quiet leafy streets. Don’t like arterial density? Want alternatives to towers? Speak in support sept 17
Residential construction is a holdout for the metric system
Example plan with mid-massing core. ~3m side setback within the front yard zone.
6 Storey single-stair 18 plex. 50' lot. Live/work flex units.
Animated rendering. 4 Storey Single Stair Plex among single fam.
bsky.app/profile/lane...
Yes, they have a whole webpage set up with links to all of the relevant documents and engineering studies.
Follow Edmonton’s approach to support template ‘Alternative Solutions’ to allow single stair (until the code is updated across the country)
4 Storey, accessible, single-stair housing block among single family homes.
Strolling down the alley with 4 and 6 storey single-stair co-ops, with shared back yards, interspersed with single family homes (on 50' lots).
In Vancouver, it's everything, including lane houses. To be fair, most fire deaths occur in single fam, as I understand it.
Everything in Vancouver needs sprinklers, and I expect SES always would, though the BCBC doesn't talk about 3 storey. With 3 storey you could do a low cost LULA lift as opposed to a full size elevator.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Big hopes for this team up. I may have some opinions...
Added @gregorrobertson.bsky.social
fearful for where this path leads
External stair removes the need to pressurize and have a backup generator and extra compartmentalization. Could be done mid-massing, as per some of our earlier concepts.
Because they are small apartment buildings and not houses.
AI rendered version. Can't seem to get rid of the all brick single fam houses, but the craftsman ones rendered pretty well.
But they’re here to stay. The question is what comes next.
Yes - that’s a better feedback mechanism than trying to micro manage design through DP guidelines, neighbour notification etc
They better not try driving in Australia
No surprises here
We'll probably see a lot more of this: Balconies and parking adjacent to powerlines, to maintain clearances.
Hopefully they are going to bring you on as a consultant
😮
Major expense. Uncertain outcome.
Hydro is now asking for 3m horizontal setbacks from High Voltage, but ALSO 4.7m vertical setbacks (i.e. a rectangle vs a circle). This is going to take a giant chunk out every lane adjacent multiplex or lane house. wtf
Delighted to finally have a bookmark / save feature
Oh - like a bookmark on the other site?
The potential to do a reduced transformer set back is new.
Mostly the diagram, but there are still discrepancies between what Hydro is saying versus City Of Vancouver
Doc app.bchydro.com/content/dam/...
Update: bsky.app/profile/lane...
update: bsky.app/profile/lane...
Previously we've been able to get a permit for a window within the transformer setback if it was non-combustible w safety glass and/or some kind of shroud to protect it from above. It's not clear if those are (or were ever) something Hydro would be ok wtih.
regarding transformers, it seems to be a mixed bag. There is an avenue to reduce the setback to as little as 1.5m, but the rules also say "no windows" in the default 6m radius, where as previously we could do window that were protected from above and non-combustible.
Hydro is also clarifying that CSA rules are the basis for setbacks, not the Electrical Code (as previously cited by @cityofvancouver.bsky.social staff)
I'm not sure yet what this means, but a 5m setback is pretty substantial.
Importantly, they've added more clarity around the setbacks from high voltage and secondary conductors. It is shown (mostly) as a radius instead of a vertical line - which is also important.
So, BC Hydro has released updated guidance for clearances to power lines. On the 1st page you can see the diagram has been edited so the dashed line doesn't go all the way to the ground. This is important, because the previous version would have made half the garages and lane houses non compliant.
The main thing to know about traffic modeling is that it will say whatever the modeler wants it to say.
Not in detail. Operates at high temp and the product is a powdery looking dark brown soil
I saw their presentation during the year we were living in Bali. Great tech. Would love to see it in Vancouver (for a high rise building / university / market etc) as an alternative to trucking compost.
If you’re into industrial scale composting you should follow the work of Shiva Industries out of Indonesia. Aerobic composters with high temp microorganisms (from volcanic underwater ecosystems)… they’ll digest a truckload of compost in a day www.shivaindustries.tech
Added @tomdigby1.bsky.social @parkboard.bsky.social
☀️⚡️🔋 www.cbc.ca/news/science...
I suppose so… the idea of grinding / separating liquids is interesting but ultimately you just have a compost bucket under the sink
Yeah they need a better solids/liquids separator, like the new composting toilets with a belt.
Yeah - seems like it could go sideways… and probably not cheap
Enthralled
Am curious about this composting garbage disposal unit
Yeah, it needs to be coupled with zoning controls for building depth, site coverage so that you get a functional shared backyard/courtyard
Yeah - that’s why we need the provincial overrides.
Sign up to speak to your city council to make these legal.
I’d also like to see more robust support for live/work zoning by clarifying that it would be taxed as residential vs commercial property.
Yeah - I’ve done a number of posts comparing massing with side setbacks vs party wall. The latter is better for the reasons you say, but harder to insert incrementally across the city vs wholesale redevelopment. Party wall massing could work in the “village centres”.
4 and 6 storey single-stair co-ops mixed among single fam houses, in a neighbourhood with 50' lots.
Kiddo is upgrading the air cleaner
At-grade bike room, with dedicated e-bike charging and cargo bike spaces.
Family sized co-op units. Combine apartment density with low-cost financing, and partial ownership (with capital gains limits) to make family sized flats affordable and secure tenure, but not attractive as a speculative asset.
Stepped setbacks align somewhat with existing single family front yards.
4 and 6 storey single-stair co-ops mixed among single fam houses, in a neighbourhood with 50' lots.
but, yes, this is clearly in contradiction with Hydro's guidance on High Voltage, which hopefully they will be fixing
The low voltage is fine, because it's outside of the 1.6m horizontal and 2.7m vertical clearance area.
We're expecting an update from Hydro on monday the 15th
Ok, I've been pondering some of the ways that BC's new housing minister @christineboyle.bsky.social might build on the expansive work championed by @ravikahlon.bsky.social and her previous work as a @cityofvancouver.bsky.social councillor. So - here's a first draft: 🧵
yep... ugh appended to the end
And, you probably noticed I added the wrong image to #4, so here it is.
Ok! There's lots that should also happen at the Federal and local levels, but this is where I think the Province needs to push to help us find our Missing Middle.
6. Allow modular / mobile housing in high demand cities We can talk about prefab/modular all day, or we can simply allow the scalable prefab/modular housing solutions that already exist. Don't want RVs in driveways? Then build more housing!
5. Support Single Egress Stair (SES) Buildings The province allowed these in the code, but there is still a big knowledge gap and pushback. The code changes also need to be backed by zoning and urban design updates so we can unlock the potential of SES buildings. Also: lower cost elevators!
4. Infrastructure mapping support Munis that don't want to densify will always cite "infrastructure constraints", so we need some common means and methods for knowing where we can add homes without having to spend $$$ on infrastructure. (We also need to know where we SHOULD spend $$$)
3. Allow smaller lots through subdivision, Province-wide > Override “estate” lot size mins (for example, parts of vancouver have obscene 150’ min frontage requirements) > Min sizes/frontage can be kept for lots not serviced by city sewer/water/power, or w extreme infrastructure / slope issues
2. Remove parking minimums, Province-wide Parking should be an optional amenity, not a pre-requisite. Take away the minimums, but add in more design flexibility to provide great parking for elec. cars and bikes. No housing project should be killed or delayed because of a parking requirement.
1. Remove poison pills for SSMUH / ADUs Some city councils will 'approve' zoning reforms at a superficial layer, but then burden them with poison pill restrictions that kill their uptake. The province can/should override these or set standards related to size, process and stratification.
Ok, I've been pondering some of the ways that BC's new housing minister @christineboyle.bsky.social might build on the expansive work championed by @ravikahlon.bsky.social and her previous work as a @cityofvancouver.bsky.social councillor. So - here's a first draft: 🧵
And here are my diagrams showing why I believe a 6 storey single stair building is safer than a 6 storey building with 2 stairs and a 100m hallway (like the one I live in) bsky.app/profile/lane...
Blow by blow with the current Single Stair debate in Victoria. Thanks @susankimyyj.bsky.social for the notes
I'm ok with partially exterior stairs with weather protection (and/or exterior circulation with enclosed stairs). BCBC missed that as a clear option that wouldn't require pressurization or backup generators (which are major hurdles). Scissor stair is a crap alternative being offered as a hedge.
High R value (R6.1 / inch) allows R22 effective with 13" assembly (including 8" concrete foundation wall). Also doesn't require a separate vapour retarder. HFO foam is fairly benign vs earlier HFC foam with really bad global warming potential. Vancouver: FSR = outside of cladding/insulation
