Blog – Page 7

Small Lot Design

May 23, 2016 by clove Leave a Comment

Here are some renderings and plans from the small lot design we have been sharing with our neighbours for the last few months.

I also presented this design at a preliminary meeting with the Fairfield Gonzales Community Association Land Use Committee (CALUC) in February. This was not the ‘official’ CALUC meeting, but rather a preliminary meeting that some neighbourhood committees request – an opportunity to introduce the project, meet the committee and hear their initial comments. We will apply to present at the “official” CALUC meeting when we are ready to submit the rezoning application, and we’re not there yet.

All renderings and plans are by Mark Ashby Architecture, unless otherwise noted.

Streetscape AFTER

Streetscape BEFORE

View from the southeast

View from the northeast

View from south neighbour’s back yard, sketch by Kate Stefiuk

East Elevation (front)

West Elevation (rear

Site Plan

Lower Floor Plans

Upper Floor Plans

On Courage and Cool Projects

April 8, 2016 by clove Leave a Comment

We are (still!) in the midst of neighbourhood consultation, and I will provide an update on that process very soon. Suffice to say that I occasionally wake in the middle of the night feeling anxious and in need of a fresh burst of inspiration. So for this post, I am sharing some big ideas from beyond our small project.

Last month I attended the Passive House Northwest Conference (PHNW) in Portland Oregon to present the research RDH is doing at the North Park Passive House here in Victoria. I left the conference full of admiration for the people making incredible projects happen on our continent. And it really is about the people. These projects do not just materialize on their own accord. The people who are making them happen display incredible depths of courage and tenacity. Here I introduce you to two of these people and their projects.

Arnold Development Group’s Second and Delaware project; rendering from Arnold’s PHNW presentation

Jonathan Arnold, President and CEO of Arnold Development Group, for his triple bottom line development model (one look at his Advisory Board will tell you this is a company committed to doing things differently) and his latest project at Second and Delaware in Kansas City. This project I love because it addresses everything that matters today in terms of development: energy, housing, food and transportation. It is a higher density rental project in the heart of the city that uses a traditional courtyard design. It is walkable and transit oriented. It is designed to meet the Passive House standard. It includes a diversity of housing types, including 20% ‘workforce’ housing. It includes space for urban farming. It is a place where people will want to live, can afford to live, and can do so with a light environmental footprint.

You can download his presentation from the conference here.

Second and Delaware features; from Arnold’s PHNW presentation

Lois B. Arena, Senior Engineer and Passive House Consultant at Steven Winter Associates , for driving the design of the world’s largest Passive House building – the Cornell Tech NYC Campus Residential Building, now under construction.

Cornell Tech NYC Residential Building, rendering from Arena’s PHNW presentation

Imagine that the fasteners that Lois needs to attach curtain wall with no thermal bridging did not exist before her project. She is drawing completely new details and training contractors. She is having to change existing building code to design the mechanical ventilation system. She is the one telling the contractors that they are simply going to have to do things differently – and she’s undoubtedly repeating this message over and over again. She joked about going grey within a couple of months of the start of construction, but what an accomplishment it will be after it’s complete.

Lois’ presentation (which will particularly appeal to the techies in the crowd) can be downloaded here.

When I see the sprawl in the outer edges of our city and the construction practices that focus on short term profit, I lose heart that things will change and change fast enough to have a real impact on climate change. Then I see projects like these. Big projects in big cities. People who are showing that it can be done and that designing for the environment goes hand in hand with fiscal common sense.

Returning to the really big picture, I want to close with an invitation to view Zack Semke’s fantastic keynote presentation at PHNW, which ended with a standing ovation. Zack opened with the worst case scenario: If we burn all remaining fossil fuels, Antarctica will melt and sea levels will rise by 200 ft. He asked: Are we all f****d no matter what we do?

I highly encourage you to flip through his slides – at turns shocking, hilarious, and inspiring as the key messages will shine through without having heard the talk. Below is an excerpt – a graph of the relative prices of gas, coal, oil, LNG, and solar. The plummeting grey line is solar, and may represent what is called a “Black Swan” event – an event that changes everything and seems to have come out of nowhere. The internet is a black swan event. The plummeting price of solar PV? Could be a black swan event.

Price of Solar PV vs gas, coal, oil, LNG.

Zack’s call to action is to resist climate denialism (there is no problem and/or we’re not part of the problem), overcome climate defeatism (we’re all f*****d anyway), and continue to take small local steps toward potentially huge collective change. Three cheers for courage and cool projects.

How Much of an Energy Hog is Our Existing House?

March 18, 2016 by clove 4 Comments

Our goal is to create housing for 2.5 families that uses less energy than the existing single family house. So how much of an energy hog is our existing house?

Here’s what our daily energy consumption looks like for the first 6 months we’ve lived here, starting in July 2015:

So…is this a lot?

Let’s do some very rough comparisons. I’ve doubled our first 6-month consumption to estimate annual consumption; converted to a per square meter metric and then compared against some other references:

Canadian average consumption for a household our size, kWh/square meter/year
Our existing house consumption, estimated, kWh/square meter/year
A typical German house, kWh/square meter/year
The first local certified Passive House (Bernhardt Passive House), kWh/square meter/year*

*We’re just talking ballparks here. It’s pretty difficult to find comparative numbers that all use the same assumptions – my intent is to show a reasonable range in potential consumption.

Hey! We’re actually doing really well by our abysmal Canadian standards, and pretty average by German standards. Of course, we would expect our consumption to be lower than the Canadian average because we have the mildest winter in Canada, although it’s unlikely to result in this much of a difference on its own.

But wait – this is only part of the story.

The other part of the story is that, boy, were we cold over the winter!

Our house came with an oil furnace and an empty tank. We didn’t want to buy a full tank of oil to heat the house for a winter when we’re getting rid of this system with our renovation, nor did we particularly want to use the existing duct work. The previous owner was a smoker and lord knows what might come puffing out of those ducts. Better to let sleeping dogs lie.

Matt cobbled together storm windows for some of our original single pane wood windows, and we put plastic film on the inside of others. And we shivered through the (albeit mild) Victoria winter, with two wall-mounted electric baseboard heaters and 2 plug-in electric heaters. We moved the heaters around depending on what room we were in and closed doors of rooms we weren’t in.

In conclusion, then, our existing house isn’t an energy hog based on the way we’re currently running it, but it surely would be one if we heated to a modern-day standard of comfort.

This comparison shows very clearly the range of what is possible. I think we can hit our target compared to what a typical house in our climate consumes. And I for one am looking forward to experiencing the comfort promised by a well insulated, airtight, and properly ventilated house!

Landscape Concept Design

February 12, 2016 by clove 1 Comment

A walk down our block

The landscape is a defining quality of our eclectic neighbourhood, and one of the goals of our design is to add something good to that landscape.

Streetscape Before

Streetscape After, rendering by Mark Ashby Architecture

Here are a few key ingredients of the landscape concept:

We want to feel a stronger connection to the outdoors and to extend our living space into the back yard. Mark A has redesigned the back of our existing house to strengthen that connection from the kitchen.
We want to grow food while playing outside. Kate S has packed a ton of beauty and functionality into a compact back yard space. Think veggie beds, espalier fruit trees, herb boxes, cedar benches, even a sand box for playing.

Landscape Concept Plan by Kate Stefiuk

Deciduous trees can be natural allies for an ultra-low energy house. If placed well, they can shade windows from direct sun in the summer when you’re at risk of overheating, and then allow that direct sun in the winter when it helps warm the house. The tree in front of the new (south) house shown in the plan is an example, where it will shade the rising sun from the east facing windows in the summer.
We intend to manage storm water on-site. The City has an excellent guide in its DIY Rainwater Management Standards for incorporating storm water retention, management, and/or re-use strategies into the landscape design (with accompanying grants through its Rainwater Rewards program). We’re still working on which strategies will work on our site, and debating low tech solutions like rain gardens vs. higher tech solutions like using rainwater to flush toilets. I’m a big fan of simplicity and less a fan of systems that will require pumps and filters and continual maintenance. If anyone knows of a stylish but simple composting toilet, I’m all ears!

Remind Me Again Why We’re Doing This?

January 29, 2016 by clove 3 Comments

I’ve been learning through trial and error about how to communicate our project.

In my early conversations with our neighbours, I focused on sharing the basic information. What do we want to do and what does it look like? I knew I had to keep it short and not throw out too much information all at once. So I showed renderings, gave basic facts, and then somewhere in the muddle of it all, I practically whispered something about energy efficiency and my passion for sustainability – as if I was embarrassed to admit that this was the stuff that gets me up in the morning.

Then last week, I took a course in communication and leadership that convinced me I had it backwards. I need to lead with the vision and follow with the cool pictures and facts!

In other words, we must answer the question ‘why?’ at the very beginning of the conversation. If we answer the question later, it gets lost in the details. If we don’t answer it at all, we leave others to guess, and for many, ‘why’ is that we’re just another developer out to maximize profit.

So I tried it for myself, using the project narrative/letter to Council as my testing ground. Here’s the draft of the introduction:

This proposal is to modestly increase density in one of Victoria’s most walkable neighbourhoods, in a manner that exemplifies efficient design and construction practices, and respects the fabric of the existing established neighbourhood. The project is shaped by the following fundamental values (here comes the ‘why’):

We believe that we have the skills, materials, and available technologies – right now – to build new homes that are significantly more energy and water efficient, comfortable, healthy and long-lasting than most of what is being built today.
We believe there is tremendous value in our existing homes and that there is much we can do to improve those as well.
We believe that environmental outcomes are at least as important as financial ones.
We believe that thoughtfully designed infill is critical to supporting a walking and biking culture.
We believe that sustainable design is compact design.
We believe that anyone can make a positive difference in their communities and this project is how we want to do it.

Starting with our vision – in a written narrative, a presentation, or an in-person conversation – reminds us what motivates us; what excites us; what pushes us out to knock on doors and jump through seemingly endless hoops. The fact that we have this opportunity to manifest so many of our core values in a real, live, bricks and mortar project is frankly incredible! It makes me want to jump up and cheer. So why in the world would we not start by sharing this enthusiasm?

You may not agree with our vision, and that’s OK. But the beautiful thing about sharing it is that it opens the door to conversation. It leads to questions. It may lead to disagreement. It may lead to new ideas.

And by being clear about what we care about and where we are coming from, we are opening ourselves to the possibility that others are there with us.

What do you think?

(For a different spin on the same theme, check out architect Steve Ramos’ 7 Essential Public Speaking Lessons I Learned the Hard Way.)

Design Charrette!

January 8, 2016 by clove 4 Comments

I hosted our design and build team at RDH for a design charrette in early December. I waited to hold this meeting until after we’d talked with enough neighbhours that we felt comfortable moving forward, and after we felt confident that we would be able to finance the project. We’d waste a lot of work and money on the detailed design if we didn’t have sufficient support on both fronts.

The goal of this meeting was to discuss big design choices in the context of cost, constructability, zoning, and performance, and then turn the design team loose to bring it to a point that we can present to the Community Association, and ultimately assemble our rezoning application package.

Around the table were Mark A (Architect), Mark B (Builder), Ian Scott (Planning Guru), Rob Lepage (RDH Building Science expert), and Kate Stefiuk (Landscape Designer). I felt awed and grateful that this talented and knowledgeable group of individuals was here to help make our project happen.

We hashed out most of the big design questions in three hours at the office. Mark A, Kate and I then fortified ourselves against the December rain with sushi and miso soup and wandered our property for another hour to discuss the landscape design in context. A productive day!

Here are the key items we discussed and agreed on (see the project page for the basic scope):

Building Shape
Suite vs. No Suite
Building Entries
Enclosure Design and Materials
Systems
Parking
Landscape and Storm Water Design
Accessory Buildings
Energy Modeling
Existing House Elements to Retain
Schedule

Building Shape:

The ideal passive house has 4 corners. Why? Well, you are investing more material into the envelope than a typical building to super insulate it. Every time you turn a corner, you have to transition all that material. The cost of detailing is much higher than a straight wall, and the likelihood that the detailing will end up being less than perfect is high. This leads to increased thermal bridging and increased heat loss. So to build a high performing envelope in a cost effective manner, the less corners the better. The challenge then lies with the architect to dress up a box!

Fortunately we’re already starting with simple shapes. The existing house is a rectangle and we will maintain the existing footprint. The new house is very close to a rectangle, currently showing one wall bump to work around some setback challenges:

and a tricky cut-out detail at the entry, which will add cost and compromise performance due to complicated detailing:

The wall bump is ok because it is simply an extra corner. Mark B suggested redesigning the front entry, though.

Suite vs. No Suite:

The City planner I met with back in October believed that the suite was the thorniest element of our proposal, since it is not supported by existing small lot zoning. However, our neighbours were either neutral or in support of adding the suite. Our design team felt that we could make a late change it would make or break our project, so we’re sticking with the suite for now.

Building Entries:

Ian suggested we consider making the existing house main entry more like a traditional front porch. This suggestion was based on his experience with city design guidelines and the typical feedback these projects receive. I am deferring to Mark A on this one, as I believe that a design can be modern, welcoming from the street, and fit with the neighbhourhood fabric without having to mimic historic styles.

Downstairs bike entry: We need an easy entry into the downstairs for bike storage. This we know from years of hauling bikes in and out every day; up and down skinny stairwells, around tight corners and various other less-than-ideal arrangements. The easier it is, the more likely we will continue riding every day forever. We may also have some limited bike storage space in Matt’s detached workshop, but a storage space in the main house for at least the most used bikes is really the best arrangement for comfort and ease of access.

Enclosure Design & Materials:

Foundations: We are assuming that we will rebuild the foundation of the existing house after it is lifted and we are thinking of using a similar approach for both houses – a slab on grade with traditional footings and insulation stuck between, like this (squiggly lines are insulation):This approach will save cost compared to doing something like this, where we’d have to insulate under the footings:
Blasting? Yes, hitting bedrock is a real possibility in our location. It actually makes me wonder if that is the reason the existing house is tucked off to the north side of the property. We will do some exploratory digging later on to get a better idea. Mark B suggested including a budget of $5,000-$10,000 just in case.
Exterior Walls: We will take the existing house walls down to studs and apply a similar approach to both new and existing: taped plywood sheathing + weather resistive barrier like SIGA Majvest (which Mark B says is cost competitive and easier to work with than Tyvek) or other weather resistive barrier + rockwool + strapping + cladding, similar to this:
Source: Guide for Designing Energy Efficient Building Enclosures
Roof: Mark B advised sticking with interior attic insulation given the cost of exterior insulating the roof, even though I like the conceptual simplicity of exterior insulation. The detailing for transitioning the air barrier and insulation from the exterior to interior is straightforward. We need to poke our heads into the attic space of our existing house to better understand our existing condition.
Windows: We are assuming triple pane. The material is to be determined, but we will aim to carry budget for high performing wood windows and we can always downgrade from there. Our preference would be for wood or fiberglass windows. We’d like to avoid products containing PVC, and I’ve heard mixed results about the long-term performance of reinforced vinyl products. If we do go for Passive House certification, our window options are more limited, since we have to select certified products. Mark B said that Optiwin windows from Germany have proven to be the most reliable and cost competitive certified products despite shipping from Europe. He suggested a budget of $60-70/sq.ft. for windows.

Systems:

We will install all-electric systems for both houses, using a high-efficiency heat recovery ventilator (HRV) for ventilation + solar PV + some form of electric supplementary heat, to be determined based on our modeled heating loads. I am also curious about the new Tesla house battery, although BC Hydro’s net-metering rate (the price at which they will buy energy from us) for site generated electricity is actually very good ($0.0999/kWh)*, and may make energy storage unnecessary at least in the near term.

*Our current Step 1 rate (for consumption up to 1376 kWh) is $0.0797/kWh and the Step 2 rate is $0.1195/kWh. If we can stay under the Step 1 threshold (entirely feasible in a low energy house), we can actually net a profit if we generate more than we consume.

Lighting will be all LED, both houses. Other systems, like domestic hot water and possibly grey water re-use are to be determined.

Parking:

Parking is always a hot topic that gets way more attention than it deserves. If we didn’t have so many cars, we wouldn’t have so much trouble finding places to put them and it just wouldn’t be such a big deal.

Alas, we’re not there yet – we are here. “Here” is a zoning requirement to provide one off-street parking spot per single family dwelling. The rental suite does not require an additional off-street spot, thankfully.

We started out with parking in the front because the lot width is tight. Then we moved it to the back with a shared driveway because I figured people walking by our house would not want to see cars parked in front.

Turns out that our neighbourhood has an entirely different approach to parking. The R1-G zoning that governs typical single family home developments has evolved to allow parking in the front; the idea being that having a couple of well-placed permeable parking strips in the front of the house means that parking is provided off the street while consuming the least amount of green space. Providing parking in the rear means a long driveway, turnaround space, and cars idling in the back yard.

Here’s a snapshot from the parking guidelines, along with a few photos of front yard parking in the neighbourhood:

Neighbourhood example of front of house parking

An example with creative application of permeable pavers

Neighbhourhood example of front yard parking area. This one has a patio that appears to straddle the property line with its neighbour. A nice human-scale touch.

This one has a patio that straddles the property line with its neighbour; a nice human-scale touch

Our neighbor several doors down on Clare St enlightened me of this approach and it makes a lot of sense. The back yards that share a fence between Clare and Chamberlain Streets are all green space. There is not a single car parked behind a house. The effect is of a large park space as far as birds are concerned. Many of the yards even have gates between them, encouraging outdoor exploration and connection for humans too.

So we’re back to the front yard. The compromise is that we will be proposing two driveways in order to break up the parking for the two houses, whereas with the shared drive aisle to the back yard, we had only one driveway. But I think on balance this is a better approach.

Landscape + Storm Water Design:

Mark A, Kate, Matt and I discussed the landscape design onsite after our charrette. Being onsite allowed us consider the design within the context of neighbouring properties and sight lines.

This is what we want the landscape design to do:

Encourage/facilitate connection with outdoors
Enhance privacy between connecting properties at the rear of the houses, particularly with respect to window sight lines
Include playful natural features for kids (small hills etc)
Include rain gardens to slow storm water flow
Create a back yard oasis
Include a tree retention + tree management plan – this is required for the rezoning package. We will also ask the arborist to advise on the large gary oak tree next door, whose branches and drip line overlap the proposed new house.
Use permeable driving strip/parking pads

Accessory buildings:

Matt’s workshop behind the existing house will be~12×18, with single phase power and decent insulation, but less than the main house.

For the new house, we will plan for an accessory building for additional storage given compact floor plan. It does not need power, but could provide electrical conduit for future. Insulation will be the same as Matt’s workshop.

Energy modeling:

I will do the energy model for the existing house; Mark A will do the new house. If we do seek Passive House certification, we can each obtain our “Certified Passive House Designer” designation having been the prime modeler and Passive House designer for one of the houses.

Existing house elements to retain to the extent possible:

Hardwood floors
Most exterior and interior framing
Solid wood doors
(Wonderfully long) clawfoot tub (add separate shower)
Farmhouse sink (kitchen)
Several interior walls (remove lathe + plaster)

Schedule:

We’re aiming to get the rezoning application submitted in February 2016, which is tight given that we have to present to the community association and collect signatures before that. If we can get it in by February, though, it is conceivable that we will have a building permit by the summer. Mark B advised that if he can start construction by early August at the latest, he can get the roof up before the rainy season (which for us is October-December). If we don’t get the permits by then, he advised waiting to start until the following January or February when the clouds lift again.

Sequencing of new and existing house construction: Ideally, we can complete both projects concurrently. It will be more efficient to pour the foundations at the same time, for example, since the main cost is getting the equipment on site. However, the sequencing will also depend on how our financing comes together and whether we need to move the existing house to register the new subdivision. If it costs us more to finance the project doing it all at once than we save through construction efficiencies, it will make more sense to do the new build first and then finance the renovation from the sale of the new house.

Financing 102

January 1, 2016 by clove 2 Comments

There is hope for our project yet. I recently met Damian from a mortgage broker firm that also self-finances projects like ours. Their rates are higher than a conventional lender, at 8-10%, but they also offer more flexibility. For example: with 25% equity in our existing house, they could provide us a loan that covers the entire property during the construction phase – the existing house mortgage, the improvements to the existing house, and the new house construction.

A conventional bank will offer better rates, but is likely to lend for the new build only, and only after the new subdivided property is registered. If we have to move the existing house in order to register, we may find ourselves in a tight spot financially.

I confess that some aspects of the financing still mystify me. I did, however, leave my meeting with Damian feeling confident that we will be able to finance our project with the money we have. Exactly what the financing and construction sequencing will look like remains to be seen.

Here is a snapshot of our current budget. The total number is higher than I want to see, but it is a conservative starting point. It includes both the new house build and the existing house renovation. The larger line items – like General Contracting – are currently very round numbers that will be refined with their own detailed budgets as we move forward.

Pre-Construction Budget:

Site Survey
Preliminary Design
Design for Rezoning Package:
1. Architectural design and plans
2. Landscape design and plan
3. Site servicing plan
4. Structural engineering (as needed)
5. Tree preservation plan
6. Planning guidance
Rezoning Application Fees

Pre-Construction Subtotal: $30,350

Construction Budget:

Hazmat Survey
Additional Site Marking
Existing House Lift
General Contracting (new build + exterior work on existing)
Existing House Interior Renovation
Architect Services During Construction
Legal
Financing Costs

Total Budget: $677,350.

The Pre-Construction subtotal is critical to get a handle on because no one will lend us any money until our rezoning application is approved. This up-front investment is out-of-pocket, and therein lies the risk in a development project.

The “financing costs” item is also an important one, and it ties back to my initial discussion about financing options. We need to understand the total interest we can expect to pay for a construction loan. In our “worst case scenario” the initial draw is high because we would have one loan for everything (existing mortgage, reno and new build) and we’d therefore be carrying the mortgage for our existing house from Day 1. In this case, we are looking at ~$42,000 in interest for a 10-month construction period – not an insignificant amount of money!

Another potential option would be selling the new house after we have received all approvals but prior to construction. In this scenario, we wouldn’t need any financing and we’d pay for the existing house renovation with funds from the sale. An attractive option, but not one that we want to count on just yet.

So we have some options and it feels good to have options!

Talking with Our Neighbours Part 2

December 6, 2015 by clove 5 Comments

On Remembrance Day and I found myself with the gift of a free afternoon – a rare window of time during the day when I wasn’t working or with our daughter.

Despite a low-level trepidation, I folded the plans under my arm, donned my boots, scarf and mittens and thrust myself into the bright chilly November afternoon.

I started at the south end of the 100m radius on our block. A neighbhour several doors down was out raking leaves. I introduced myself, told her we were planning a project and asked if she wanted to hear a bit more. As I got into some of the goals of the project, she became increasingly engaged. She knew about Passive House; recognized that we had a huge lot that was likely to be developed by someone if not us, and said she would like to see our project happen. What a great (and relieving!) first conversation!

I talked with 5 more neighbhours that afternoon, including three who share a property line with us. 5 of the 6 people I talked with were either neutral or supportive. The 6th thought that the new lot and house seemed very narrow, but he also commended our ambitious plan.

So far so good!

I’ve now spent five afternoons door knocking and have had conversations with over 20 different neighbours. Each time, I have started with uncertainty and finished feeling buoyed by the largely positive response.

Here is a summary of the generally positive and constructive comments I have heard so far:

Most are either neutral or supportive of the project proposal
Many were supportive of adding modest density to the area
Most are either neutral or supportive of adding the suite to the existing house, citing the need to increase density and the diversity of housing options in the area
Neighbours sharing back yard boundaries want to ensure that their privacy is considered in the house and landscape design
One architect neighbour with a long history in the area suggested we move the parking back to the front of the property (see early design post). No other houses on the block with adjoining back yards on Chamberlain and Clare Streets have parking in the rear, which results in a large ‘park’ space that many of the residents value highly. There are even gates connecting many of the backyards.
Many expressed interest in and support for the energy efficiency/low energy approach to the design

OK but HOW do we Talk with Our Neighbhours?

November 13, 2015 by clove Leave a Comment

I’ve described our project to neighbours we’ve gotten to know since moving in this summer. I need to broaden the circle to include neighbhours we haven’t yet met. But I’d been reluctant to take the next step and realized that I didn’t quite know how to initiate those conversations. I saw myself become the door-to-door solicitor that everyone avoids. I don’t want to impose myself and I don’t want to presume that everyone is interested or has the time to talk.

Deeper within my psyche lies the fear of launching our creation out into the universe and inviting feedback. It’s entirely possible that this project into which we have poured many hours of research and creative energy, could be hated. We are making ourselves vulnerable, and that is a little scary.

And yet – if we want to realize our project, it has to be done and the sooner the better. It’s even highly possible that we will learn something that will make our project even better. We’re early enough in the process that we can bend with the prevailing wind of community opinion.

Acknowledging the root of my reluctance, I turned off the timid voices in my head and converged on a plan of action. Yes, I will go door to door. But the purpose of my door knocking is simply to introduce the project; to ask if people want to learn more and then to arrange follow-up that meets their needs. This is a plan I can work with.

The Radius of Neighbhourhood Consultation

October 31, 2015 by clove Leave a Comment

When our design is essentially complete, we will apply to present our project to a meeting of the Gonzales Neighbhourhood Community Association Land Use Committee (CALUC). The city mails notices of the meeting to all residents within a 100m radius of our property.

Here’s what that radius looks like (our house is the starred one in the middle):

The job of the CALUC is to record the general sentiment and specific comments of both the committee and any neighbhours in attendance. They submit these comments to the city and they are considered during the evaluation of our application.

As part of our application – and ideally before the CALUC meeting, we also have to petition all voting-age owners and renters of all properties sharing a property line or with a property line within 10m of ours. The properties outlined in red within the 100m radius shown in the image are the ones we are required to petition:

The petition asks residents to indicate whether “I support the application” or “I am opposed to the application” and includes a space for comments. We tally up the “yeses” and the neutral non-responders and these have to represent a minimum of 75% of the total petitioned.

So my goal is to knock on as many of these doors as possible while we are still developing the design and can incorporate feedback.