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Do external stairs make them legal in CoV? Or easier to legalize? Also, what would it take to have the stairs and elevator midway on the side and split units front to back instead of side by side along the long direction?

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.

Stepped setbacks align somewhat with existing single family front yards.

My issue with setbacks is I fear they create unusuable space. People don't want to chill on benches in a sliver between 8 storeys and the street, or let kids play there. I'd prefer to maximize rear garden space so they can have a playground, BBQ, etc. Is there a design principle I'm missing?

A lot of these buildings don't fence the setback space so it becomes a little void. From what I've read this is not good for crime, litter, rodents, etc? But I am not an urban design expert, just a climate person, so I defer to those who know the space better.

That said, by all means build lots of these, I'd love to have more footfall on our street. Take away a traffic lane and make it into a bike lane while they are at it.

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”.

That makes sense. And look, having lived in Manhattan I was party-walled in all around and there are life stages where that is just not how one wants to live. It was great as a young singleton and as a young couple, and great for older friends, but it does not suit having toddler+ kids.

Yeah, it needs to be coupled with zoning controls for building depth, site coverage so that you get a functional shared backyard/courtyard

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.

At-grade bike room, with dedicated e-bike charging and cargo bike spaces.

What gets me is the 4 story version is pretty much an answer to many lower mainland NIMBYs criticisms; massing is similar to existing SFH, provides family sized units, and provides relatively high parking ratios, but it seems so far away from actually getting the support of NIMBYs and councils.

Yeah - that’s why we need the provincial overrides.

As a single family house owner, I'd welcome these on my block over the larger 3 storey townhouse complexes that are being built on my block. This leaves more open yard/ green space/ light than the TH projects that have concrete courtyards with minimal plants that are never used.

AI rendered version. Can't seem to get rid of the all brick single fam houses, but the craftsman ones rendered pretty well.

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