A new catalogue showing up to 10 standardized designs aimed at getting small-scale multi-unit homes built throughout sa国际传媒 will be developed as the province continues to unveil initiatives to tackle the housing crisis.
The goal is to see homes developed more quickly and at a lower cost, thus saving builders money and hopefully adding more needed housing stock. They would include triplexes, laneway homes and townhouses.
“In order to address our housing crisis, we must use innovative solutions to enable housing to be built faster,” Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing, said Thursday.
“Having standardized building designs available can help streamline the permitting process. We will work to add additional designs in the coming years to ensure our communities remain vibrant and have a variety of housing options.”
A request for proposals was issued Wednesday for a consultant to engage with industry professionals and local governments to put together design parameters to create standardized housing designs. The opportunity closes Dec. 13.
The aim will see the province working with the consultant for nine months and be ready to seek design services by the spring.
Standardized designs and plans are expected to be available to local governments by next summer, the ministry said.
“These designs can be adopted by local governments and offered to builders and homeowners at a significantly below-market cost to expedite permitting and development.”
Standard designs could streamline permit approvals with local governments. Using the design would save on the costs of design services, the ministry said.
The move dovetails with province’s plan to allow three or four units on land now zoned for single-family only. Projects with up to six units would be permitted near bus stops with frequent transit service.
Designs will be created for various lot sizes and configurations.
Guidebooks will be created to guide local governments on bringing in pre-approval processes. These books are to help homeowners and small-scale builders learn how to add density to their lots using standardized designs.
Tamara White, executive director at Small Housing sa国际传媒, said their research found that “standardized designs for laneway homes and multiplexes can reduce uncertainty and costs for builders by significantly simplifying permitting, saving builders and local governments time and money.”
Such designs can also “raise aesthetic and energy efficiency design standards” and help people imagine what these new designs might look like in their own neighbourhoods.
Maura Gatensby, architect and lead practice adviser and regulatory liaison for the Architectural Institute of sa国际传媒, said: “Codes are advancing rapidly and it can be difficult for the construction industry to keep up with the changes.
“The provision of standard designs of code-compliant homes will assist in addressing affordability, while making high-quality designs of the latest high-performance standards more readily available.”
As the province unrolls its housing initiatives, Greater Victoria builders are operating at a pace close to last year’s.
A total of 3,885 new homes were started between January and the end of October in the capital region this year. That trails the same months last year when 3,918 homes got underway. The majority of new homes are apartments, either rental units or condominiums.
Last month, contractors signalled intentions to begin work on 732 homes, up from 604 units for October 2022.
