BCBusiness

14 BCBusiness nOVEmBER 2018 don't need to be razed and redeveloped with one uni- form typoloy," he says. "We need to keep a bit of what's there, and we need to be able to add things that are much more diverse than what we have now. It's that mixing that gives us those really strong neighbourhoods." As a result, SHBC partnered on projects with the cities of Maple Ridge, Nelson and Vancouver. Maple Ridge and Nelson had existing regula- tions for detached secondary dwellings, but few homeown- ers were building them. SHBC helped with research and public outreach that led to both cities increasing the maximum size of in†ll homes, to 968 square feet and two storeys in Nelson, and to 15 percent of the lot area or 1,500 square feet, whichever is less, in Maple Ridge. The two com- munities also now allow both a secondary suite and second- ary detached dwelling (called laneway homes in Nelson and detached garden suites in Maple Ridge), for potentially three residences per property. In Nelson, the maximum was previously 700 square feet of living area. "It doesn't make a lot of †nancial sense most of the time," says city planner Alex Thumm, "in terms of what you could get for rent for a place that small but what you're having to put into it to build it, because you still have all these †xed costs—the kitchen, the bathroom, the connections for utilities." SHBC also helped develop two publications for the homeowner-turned-developer who is less familiar with city building processes than design professionals but wants to build a laneway house for extra income or intergenerational living. Nelson is considering pre-approved plans, "likely going through an architec- tural competition to choose some high-quality designs that can be made available to homeowners at a lower cost than commissioning their own designs and using that as a way to promote local designers," Thumm says. At workshops and open houses in Maple Ridge, com- munity planner Lisa Zosiak found that people's major inter- est was being able to construct larger detached garden suites. "They're quite a large invest- ment," she points out, and residents think, "If I'm invest- ing in this, what would make it livable for me or for the kids?" The city has lined up three homeowners to build detached garden suites as pilot projects, and Small Housing BC is help- ing put together a look book for each. "We do pro†les of each of the property owners, the prop- erties, what they're intending to build, to try and give council and the public an idea about what these structures will look like and what this will be like in the neighbourhood," Zosiak says. As for Vancouver, SHBC director and urban planner Michael Mortensen is doing a feasibility study on developing single-family lots that com- bine market-value and more a™ordable units attractive to both homeowners and neigh- bours. "We've got examples, especially in the streetcar suburbs, of types of develop- ment at higher density that still preserve high-quality, leafy, desirable neighbourhoods but accommodate more people," says Mortensen, who has sug- gested that Vancouver Specials should make a comeback. "This study is looking at how can we weave in some perma- nently a™ordable housing as part of that." On November 17, SHBC is holding a summit in Vancouver for decision makers in †elds such as construction, design, †nance, policy and real estate. "The whole reason for doing the summit in the †rst place is we're bringing Maple Ridge, Nelson and Vancouver together to say, this is what we did, this is what we learned, this is what's next for us," project manager Koutalianos says. "And leverage the room at the end [of the event] and be like, what's next now for B.C.?" As the Zero Waste Con- ference comes to the Vancouver Convention Centre for its seventh annual national event (November 8 and 9), we examine how B.C. is leaning into the circular economy by Melissa Edwards Circular thinking ( the informer ) G O F I G U R E READ THIS Why is it important to understand your brand? Because, according to Ben Baker, founder of Your Brand Marketing, whether it's landing that first job, convinc- ing someone to marry you, getting a promotion, closing a deal, leading a team or just having your opinion matter in everyday life, your brand is the key to success. in Powerful Personal Brands, Baker, who lives and works in steveston, B.C., bolsters his own advice with insights from business leaders across north america, followed by exercises to help the reader reflect on what they're all about. Your Brand Marketing 200 pages, paperback, $24.95 10% share of Vancou- ver businesses that have declared the goal of becoming zero-waste 30% share whose products or services help to repair or pre- serve the environment Commercial, industrial and institutional waste produc- tion in Metro Vancouver In 2011: 407 kg per employee In 2016: 273 kg per employee Share of Vancouver-area businesses that divert waste beyond what's required by regulation 35.4% Estimated new direct jobs that would result from recycling of all waste in B.C. 7,000 July 2017 sOURCEs: mEtRO VanCOUVER, VanCOUVER ECOnOmiC COmmissiOn, Canadian CEntRE fOR pOLiCY aLtERnatiVEs Commercial, industrial and institutional waste produc- tion in Metro Vancouver In 2011: 407 kg per employee In 2016: 273 kg per employee

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