Vancouver Special
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Vancouver Special
1–10 of 58 posts
Re: Vancouver Special
#2Back when you could simply build homes in Vancouver, without a literal decade of red tape spent in appeals, reviews and permit queues
Re: Vancouver Special
#3I'm shocked by the memories that photo has unlocked. Early 90s road trip with my parents to their friends' living in Vancouver. Sleepless nights in the summer heat and humidity with no AC. All while reading Cliff Stoll's classic The Cuckoo's Egg.
Re: Vancouver Special
#4Back when you could simply build homes in Vancouver, without a literal decade of red tape spent in appeals, reviews and permit queues
Good to know.
It is like this in the nearby suburbs as well (Burnaby, Richmond, etc.)?
Re: Vancouver Special
#5Back when you could simply build homes in Vancouver, without a literal decade of red tape spent in appeals, reviews and permit queues
Good to know. It is like this in the nearby suburbs as well (Burnaby, Richmond, etc.)?
Yes indeed. There are Vancouver Specials in the surrounding municipalities as well (I used to live in one).
Re: Vancouver Special
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
Good to know. It is like this in the nearby suburbs as well (Burnaby, Richmond, etc.)?
Yes indeed. There are Vancouver Specials in the surrounding municipalities as well (I used to live in one).
I meant more is the administrative red tape an issue. :)
This is somewhat aspirational, but I live in Vancouver and if/when we get PR, we'd like to buy a home and possibly want to renovate.
Condo living (or in local Canadian "Strata Living") has been a very mixed experience for us.
Re: Vancouver Special
#7A few details not mentioned in the article:
1. The Vancouver Special originated as a way to evade zoning regulations. The lower floor is 18" below grade which qualified it as a "basement" not counting towards floor area ratio calculations.
2. Once the design became widespread, the building permitting process was streamlined -- there was no need for a detailed review of plans if they were identical to previously approved homes.
3. These were fundamentally "cheap and fast" housing, and have a poor reputation not so much for their conformity as for the poor quality construction.
4. As a cost saving measure, Vancouver Specials often came with "unfinished basements". An entire generation of Vancouver homeowners learned to install drywall -- and often electrical and plumbing -- which further contributes to the poor quality of the construction.
Re: Vancouver Special
#8A few details not mentioned in the article: 1. The Vancouver Special originated as a way to evade zoning regulations. The lower floor is 18" below grade which qualified it as a "basement" not counting towards floor area ratio calculations. 2. Once the design became widespread, the building permitting process was streamlined -- there was no need for a detailed review of plans if they were identical to previously appro…
Thanks. I was trying to figure out where the "monster homes" appellation was coming from. It evokes McMansions but it's more about reach and spread than size.
FAR zoning not allowing for a simple 2 story home seems absurd but I suppose those were written to imply a certain setback from the property line.
Re: Vancouver Special
#9A few details not mentioned in the article: 1. The Vancouver Special originated as a way to evade zoning regulations. The lower floor is 18" below grade which qualified it as a "basement" not counting towards floor area ratio calculations. 2. Once the design became widespread, the building permitting process was streamlined -- there was no need for a detailed review of plans if they were identical to previously appro…
Not sure if this is still the case ~25 years later, but when I lived in Vancouver in the late 90s, a lot of those DIY-finished basements were set up as (probably off-the-books) rental units to help cover the homeowners' mortgages.
I lived in one of those for about a year in-between actual apartments, and always thought it was weird how it was just slightly below grade. Thank you for solving that mystery :).
Re: Vancouver Special
#10A few details not mentioned in the article: 1. The Vancouver Special originated as a way to evade zoning regulations. The lower floor is 18" below grade which qualified it as a "basement" not counting towards floor area ratio calculations. 2. Once the design became widespread, the building permitting process was streamlined -- there was no need for a detailed review of plans if they were identical to previously appro…
Thanks for the added context! Would be great to contribute these details to the wiki page as well