ARE WE GROWING TOO FAST?

Housing crisis still is worsening

By MIKZ GRENBY
Bea Eusinesa Writer
+ Today's changing life style may help to make it
easier for pecple to accept new forms of accommoda-
tion_and so ease the present housing crisis.

Over-all, however, only a comprehensive planning
end development prozram can possibly provide a
tong-term sulution to the growing cost and shrinking
supply of adequate nousing.

The most popular alternative in this area to the
traditional idea of “owning your own piece of land
is the condominium.

nied Aveling, president of Crest Realty Ltd., sees it
this way; :

“Our whole style of living is changing. The day {s
disappearing when everybody stayed home to mow
the lawn and make the house into a showplace.

“Taday, peuple are much more recreation-minded.
They're gone Friday and don’t come home again until
Sunday niynt. They might still like the idea of owning
a bit of land, but they aren’t so keen on having to
look after it.

“Because of this, they are prepared to settle for
Jess than the traditional] 60-by-120-foot lot. And what
with not spending so much time at home, their re
quirement for privacy is not so great elther. 4

Walter Badun, vice-president of Western Realty
Projects Lid.. says that costs can be kept to reason-
able levets un'v through clore co-operation of devel-
sepuilder, and he adds: .
<: gers must look at new arvas with a total
town erutce concept in mind, not oniy to provide a
variety of housing but also to meet shopping and
recreational needs.”

levelopers say the government can—and mitst
az ihe pad in otwreall panhin r, Develup compre:
hensive lanii-use programs. Decide how many people
are to live where, Jay down development guidelines,
set minimum construction ftandards—and then let
rivate enterprise get on with it,

P “When government buys lind, ft only reduces the
supply and pushes prices up even more,” says Jack
Poole, president of Lawson Developments Ltd.

“Government should desicnate developnient areas

ecide Where the developnient is” fois a
place. Then it should decide the density—-how many

le the area can support.
pect should ensure underlying services snd specify
construction standards.

“If all this happened, then the private sector
would go in and cut each other's throats in competing
for the work—and so, hammer down the prices.”

Bill Graham, Vancouver's town planner for the 10
years until last February and now head of his own
company, W. E. Granam and Associates. agrees that
“ferertul planning” at a hich fevet ws vital

VArCHilecs, ithlOrns auld te SOlOpers wren & VOlUM=
tarily going to inatitute the comprehensive approach
that 1s needed,” he says.

He gis’s an example of how more use could be
made of e€xisting ‘snace, and again stresses the need
for governmental direction “instead of the uncertain.
ty we now have at Goth federal and provincial ‘cvels,

“Up to 35 pee cone of the average city is made up
of strects and lanes," savs Graham. “So if vou could
design deverpnients on a larce scale, you could get
much more eviicient uss at land,

“A d0-eacre sie cored be desi cned far cluster town.
hovecs and save a nm sn amount of space for
roadis—sou vould save as much as hait the space
whith would go to roads under old subdivision Fian-
ning.

“And then yorr would have this extra space avail-
Mle eithee ( Puble areas or for nore housing.”

Gr win ‘ens that this type of 1..v-rnment direc:
tion avant. would be more ciferi.e caan tie di-
rect invoiven ent of mua acesmmodation itseif
(ike the cuunell housing of Erciand) or the indivect
involscmert of pa cvidin, subsicics or heiping to raise
people's incomes to the level where they could afiord
to buy homes. foo. .

fencing can be used,

The house has no doors or windows
on the side that is on the lot line.
- Otherwise, privacy is e.hanced by

velopment in

ned $250 million Aberdeen Heights de-

loops.

“This is one way of putting houses

turning houses in relation to each other on lots as narrow as 2b {wet,” come

so that lines of sight do not overlook
prime cy yard areas,
When needed, strategically located

Clearly, then, lots can be smaller yet
with the zero lot line conecpt, offer
more usabic space than larger lots with
conventionaily sited houses.

The concept has been used at the
Central Park project, just outside To-
ronto, and is also part of Dawson De-

ments Crest’s Aveling. . .
Jorgen Bysse, Vancouver-based vice-
president oJ Canadian Real Estate Re-
search Corp., feels, however, that the
concept will not be an instant success
in Western Canada. .
“People here are more used to the
country rather thad the big-city style |
of life.” he says. “it's a psychological
huncup—and there are still other al-
tematives availavie.”. ;
Planner Chesworth bears out Bysse’s

velopments’ Greentree Village in North — feelins to a degree:

Burnaby.
Deminion Construction Ltd. fs con-
sidering using the concept in its plan-

“You're up against the traditional
ways of both buiiding and buying.”
notes Chesworth.

me Hele ac

a ae

Marth Chesworth, North Vancouver district's 1
municipal planner, also stresses the need for overs '

all rather than piecemeal planning,

“If indeed there is a solution to the housing prob-

fem, it will have to be through action on several

fronts," he says.

“You obviously have to Jook at land, density and

servicing. But you should also consider size—do

people really need 2,0:u square feet of living space?

“The decree of completion of a housing unit is |

another factor. Perhaps the homes need be only 60 to

70 per cent complete when people move in. They can '

then finish the work as their finances permit."

Chesworth points out that plenning ideals and

planning realities are two verv different things,

“There’s usually more money in selling land for
expensive single-family dwellings than for low-cost

townhouses,” he adds.

*Then yon have the difference between the havex
and the have-nots, those who have homes and are
living in the area and those who have not got homes
and want to move into the azea.

“The residents probably favor a no-growth pol-
icy—and it's the residents who elect the counci) mem-

“Tt is probably going to reach a stage where rele
dents are simply going to have to accept the new.
comers.” :

According to Western Realty’s Badun, some 93,-
000 housing units will have to be built in Greater
Vancouver over the next five years to accommodate
the expected population growth.

“Based on development puttorns of the pasr fiv-
years,” he says, “this would include 40,00) single
famity homes and 53.000 multiple-family dwellings.’

Badun says that more than 10.00% acres of serv
iced land will be needed for this housing,

He notes that the 6.000 acres. which the Dennis
Report on Housing ciaimed is he'd by major private

7S ems,

uy “ “cog

the VANCOUVER SUN: Tues., June S, 1973 tee g 5

cieatraraa ne & Mice Gest cth Ontgrig reveals
aroad land plan

“A iarge portion of this 6.000 acres Js in areas
which won't be ready for development for some time,
so the land shortage can become acute very quickly,"
says Badun.

He points out that his forecast Is based on the as-
sumption that the area will continue its growth fat-
tern of some three per cent a year.

“Oa that basis, Metropolitan Vancouver will grow
by about 170,000 prope from this year through
1977. or about :34.014) people a year, to a total of
1,240,009 people," he says.

Despite the growing acceptance of condominiums,
people stil lay con-ideraole weieht on the idea of
having some land they can cail their own.

A new idea which may heip t1 provide such own.
ership even as land becomes more and more scarce
is the “zero Int tine’ vencept, aiso known as the “zero
sice vard" concept,

The concept involves putting houses at the very
front, rear or side of the lot.

This gives each house in a neichborhood the
maximum use of outdoor spare—one large yard ine
stead of two small, unusable side yards and an often
also unusable front yard.

TORONTO (CP) —- The pro-
vinc.al govecament set duwa
sweeping lant planning legis
istion Munday that provides a
new process for the design,
accption and imple mentation
of land planning in Ouario,

The tegislton was antre
duced in ce sjuaction with gov.
mime’ policy Gn a parkway
heit aud the Muara escarp-
nent,

the omnibus te -istation al-
loxs the omunister of inter.
gesermmental alfuirs to dests-
nate any land in the proviner
as a development srva and
order a desvcloprient plan to
Te Jone of the land 3 calls
fur advisory cummittees or
cunsultation durin: the prepa
ration uf any such picn.

fa sntroductng the legisla.
Gon, Juin White, nuinister of

interjovernmental affair:
said onee ans such plan
adopted by rut.ner, it will b.
come the officisd guide for a
provinctal and murnicipa
agencies, .
Premicr Viulliam Davis sai
the fesisiaton is “hiatarie
The A.tia Provide for Pa:
ning and Levesepment in O:

Statlo 13 ay
proved by the lecisiature,:
Rib giver the provinve th
power fo acquire land ta
desiaenated area to impie mer
any feature of such a plan.
Crles thit provtstes et cous
buy, sell, leave or otherwis

dispose of such land.

ee ey,

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