Vancouver Laneway Housing (LWH) Trial: Brilliant Solution or Community Buster?

Hi, I live on West 21st Avenue between Main and Cambie. When my  wife and I purchased a single family house on a single family lot 6.5 years ago we found much more than just a house. We found a unique neighborhood and a real community to establish our home in.

Now, in addition to having relaxed by-laws on 'basement suites', City Council has more plans to increase the density. The current experiment involves building "laneway" housing on single family lots.

While we might applaud the thought, effort and creativity that has gone into this initiative the reality is something else. All you have to do is take a look at one one built/being built on a 33 X 115 or 33 X 122 lot. My belief is the result for neighbors and your community is significant and entirely negative. I started this website not only as one way to voice my opposition but to encourage discussion as well.

For the record my position is single family lots of 33' X 115' or 122' are not suitable for the addition of a laneway house. 

I'll be adding to this site over time but I urge you to get out and take a look your self. This is an important community issue and your voice should be heard.

What's New?

     UPDATE: Here it comes!

The Laneway Housing Monitoring report will go before City Council on Thursday, October 21. The subject of this report is monitoring of the laneway housing program and the first 100 approved laneway houses. All interested parties are welcome to speak before Council.

Please see the official notification in THE Meeting tab on the right for more details.

Peter Selnar on the Impact of Laneway Housing

June 2010
THE IMPACT OF LANEWAY HOUSING
We are now witnessing the rollout of the first Laneway Houses in the City of Vancouver since City Council approved rezoning last summer to allow such development on virtually all single family lots (33 feet wide or wider) throughout the city (by all accounts, in the range of 60,000 to 66,000 lots). It is difficult to comprehend how such a extensive and fundamental change to the zoning of an entire City was enacted without a referendum and/or a pilot project. Perhaps the answer lies in the public not understanding the implications of the Laneway Housing or the term “Eco-densification”.

Peter's article, as well as photos and a copy of the June 26 CKNW radio interview, continue on 'Peter's Page.

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