Do you see city council introducing similar zones with zero setbacks and appropriate FAR's, or has the recent multiplex program been a sign that our council is not willing to make the appropriate steps to help increase affordability?
ABC just announced a motion to push for a number of housing policies. It doesn't include more city-wide missing-middle policies, but it does include speeding up of the "urban villages" in the Vancouver Plan, allowing 3- to 6-storey buildings and townhouses in certain specific areas.
Yes, it's basically just upzoning. The city of Vancouver's multiplex program that council just approved is a step in that direction, but a very small step. Auckland has zones allowing five-storey apartment buildings by right, with zero setbacks.
In the equivalent of the multiplex zones, they allow three storeys with about one-third more floor space than Vancouver. (Vancouver allows a 1.0 floor space ratio, about 4000 square feet on a standard 33-foot lot. Auckland allows 45% site coverage and three storeys; I believe that's a floor space ratio of 1.35, or 5400 square feet on a 33-foot lot.) That doesn't just mean that each project gives you more floor space, it also means that more projects will happen, because a building with 5400 square feet is significantly more valuable than one with only 4000 square feet.
Do you see city council introducing similar zones with zero setbacks and appropriate FAR's, or has the recent multiplex program been a sign that our council is not willing to make the appropriate steps to help increase affordability?
ABC just announced a motion to push for a number of housing policies. It doesn't include more city-wide missing-middle policies, but it does include speeding up of the "urban villages" in the Vancouver Plan, allowing 3- to 6-storey buildings and townhouses in certain specific areas.
We need that red spike in "Multi-unit". Is it just upzoning? Is it just going to happen, now that you can put 3 units per lot?
Yes, it's basically just upzoning. The city of Vancouver's multiplex program that council just approved is a step in that direction, but a very small step. Auckland has zones allowing five-storey apartment buildings by right, with zero setbacks.
In the equivalent of the multiplex zones, they allow three storeys with about one-third more floor space than Vancouver. (Vancouver allows a 1.0 floor space ratio, about 4000 square feet on a standard 33-foot lot. Auckland allows 45% site coverage and three storeys; I believe that's a floor space ratio of 1.35, or 5400 square feet on a 33-foot lot.) That doesn't just mean that each project gives you more floor space, it also means that more projects will happen, because a building with 5400 square feet is significantly more valuable than one with only 4000 square feet.