At their regular meeting on March 9th, Council gave first reading to the proposed amendments to the City’s Zoning Bylaw in order to harmonize the existing provisions of the Basic Universal Housing Features with those described in Section 3.8.5, Adaptable Dwelling Unit, of the current British Columbia Building Code.

Incentives Structure

The City will maintain its strategy to offer floor area exemptions from the maximum allowed to incentivize voluntary, higher accessibility standards beyond the Building Code. Like earlier efforts determining the appropriate area exemption to achieve BUH compliance, the design industry was consulted on area requirements for the ADU provisions. That consultation suggests the minimum additional area to accommodate the increased spatial requirements in ADU regulations is approximately 3.72 m2 (40 ft 2 ), as opposed to the 1.86 m2 (20 ft 2) for BUH.

Proceeding on the RAAC 's endorsement of our approach, there is strong support for including the four BUH items (mentioned above) not considered in the ADU, and the following as requirements for the 3. 72 m2 (40 ft2) floor area exemption: 

• additional electrical outlets in bedrooms for future motorized bed and other equipment 

• an accessible door sill to balconies and patios as current regulations are silent on the height of such door sills, which almost always prevent access.

Incentives, Floor Area Exemptions 

1. A 1.86 m2 (20 ft2) floor area exemption will continue to apply for each unit designed to achieve the current BUH standard. This will also apply to those ADU-compliant units required by the base Building Code that incorporate the following items, less an accessible door sill requirement: 
   • task lighting at the sink, stove and key work areas in the kitchen
   • pull-out work boards at 810 mm height in the kitchen
   • at least one window in the bedroom and living room, with a sill height not exceeding 750 mm to accommodate seated viewing; and
   • minimum size 1,500 mm x 1,500 mm for patios and balconies. 

Those that provide an accessible door sill to patios and balconies and additional electrical outlets in one bedroom, in addition to the above, will qualify for the 3. 72 m2 (40 ft2 ).

1. A 3. 72 m2 ( 40 ft2 ) floor area exemption will apply for each unit, beyond the 20 per cent required by the Building Code, designed to meet the ADU standards and incorporating the following features:
   • task lighting at the sink, stove and key work areas in the kitchen
   • pull-out work boards at 810 mm height in the kitchen
   • at least one window in the bedroom and living room, with a sill height not exceeding 750 mm to accommodate seated viewing
   • minimum size 1,500 mm x 1,500 mm for patios and balconies
   • an accessible door sill to patios and balconies; and
   • additional electrical outlets in bedrooms for future motorized bed and other

Additional information can be found in the full report by City staff.