Conversations That Matter: Building a sixplex? Expect a regulatory labyrinth

Tillie Kwan and Bettina Balcaen with Studio Balcaen Kwan, an architectural firm. Photo by Stuart McNish /Special to the Sun

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When the City of Vancouver approved duplexes on single-family-zoned properties in 2018, more than 450 property owners applied for the rezoning in the first couple of years, according to City of Vancouver stats. When the city approved sixplexes, the number of applications increased.

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According to a city report, “between ‘multiplexes,’ duplexes, coach homes and townhouses, the city approved over 1,260 ground-oriented homes across low-density neighbourhoods, with municipal targets continuously being surpassed.”

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The zoning changes upped the value of properties and that increase makes upscaling from single family home to multiples attractive to landowners who see a potential windfall in their property values.

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According to ‘VanPlex’ a Vancouver property-tech company, values of rezoned properties grew by 25 to 50 per cent.

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“It’s an appealing idea to convert your single family home into a ‘multiplex,’ that is until you set out to navigate your way through the city’s regulatory labyrinth,” says Bettina Balcaen of Studio Balcaen Kwan, an architectural firm that has developed a road map through a maze of regulations that can make these new homes unlivable.

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Balcaen and Tillie Kwan joined a Conversation That Matter about what you need to know before you decide to tear down your house and build a duplex, fourplex or sixplex. See the video at vancouversun.com/tag/conversations-that-matter.

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Join us April 28 for Conversations Live, the Conservative party of B.C. leadership candidates forum.

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