Would you Buy that Laneway House?

 

Jen St. Denis in Metro News reports on something that Price Tags has been predicting: that those laneway houses may soon be stratafied.  Gil Kelley the Director of Planning for the City of Vancouver is exploring this option for first-time buyers, along with a host of other incentives.

“We are looking at everything we do,” said Gil Kelly, adding that allowing more homes to be subdivided into duplexes is another example of the infill development the city is looking at.”

When laneway housing was first approved in 2009, the concept came out of the CityPlan process where families asked that this form of housing be available on their single family lots for their children or relatives. Eight years later, these houses which can be 700 square feet to 1,000 square feet in relation to the size of the lot, could be considered for strata. But they won’t be cheap, with an estimated price tag of one million dollars.

Planning department staff will prepare  a report to Council expected for March 28 reviewing the options available to further densify the single family neighbourhoods that are experiencing net losses of residents. Will  the stratification of laneway housing be enough to stem that tide? Or should there be more explorations of how to best provide density and affordability through other forms as well?