Vancouver's housing crisis is in full swing. Insufficient supply and skyrocketing prices, alongside municipal commitments to health and sustainability, necessitate creative housing options that are at once affordable, equitable, ecologically sustainable, and conducive to long-term health. We strongly believe that tiny houses may be one opportunity to address these diverse needs.
City of Vancouver presented its housing reset strategy to council on March 28, 2017, in which it identified tiny houses as a built form to explore. In July, the housing department is bringing forward its final recommendations to council. Now is the time for the city to step forward and champion the legalization and legitimization of tiny houses as an affordable, ecologically sustainable, and community-centric housing option for diverse populations.
Those who have signed this petition are in favour of the inclusion of tiny houses, as defined by the BC Tiny House Collective*, into new and existing neighbourhoods within the City of Vancouver, and more generally across Metro Vancouver and BC.
We the undersigned ask that municipal staff and council take action and work with the BCTHC to develop a series of environmentally sustainable tiny house pilot projects in the City of Vancouver over the course of one (1) year. These diverse pilots will test the capacity and impact of tiny houses as tools for gentle densification in one or more of Vancouver's existing neighbourhoods, as both entry-level laneway alternatives and as temporary dwellings for pop-up communities on vacant, irregular or infill lots. They will showcase sustainable practices including but not limited to: green waste management systems, renewable energy sourcing and deconstruction/building material reuse. This pilot series is a step towards the legalization and inclusion of tiny houses into the City of Vancouver's future building code revisions and zoning bylaw amendments.
*The BC Tiny House Collective is a community-run organization in support of tiny houses across Metro Vancouver and BC. For more information, please visit bctinyhousecollective.com.
