Duplexes Approved for 99 Percent of Vancouver Single-Family Neighborhoods

"Vancouver city council has voted 7-4 in favour to allow duplexes in 99 per cent of the city’s low-density, single-family areas," reports Joanne Lee-Young and Massey Padgham.

The move, which would be considered ambitious beyond the realm fo political possibility in most cities in the United States, is considered an interim step in Vancouver,"because allowing for duplexes is seen as a nod to a 'quick-start action' that will pave the way for later allowing triplexes and multi-unit buildings in single-family neighbourhoods and is part of a broader program to increase housing options across the city," according to Lee-Young and Padgham.

The article includes details of the political debate in the Vancouver City Council that produces the density-inducing decision. More coverage of the political dynamics of the vote is available from Jen St. Denis.

An article by Simon Little offers a little more detail about the details of the zoning change approved by the City Council:

Neighbourhoods like Strathcona, Kitsilano and Grandview Woodland had already permitted duplexes. They are now joined by west side neighbourhoods such as Dunbar, Kerrisdale and West Point Grey.

Aside from permitting duplexes, the new zoning does not allow for any increase in height or density on a property.