Module 4: Residential Lot Standards Flashcards
The basic categories of dwelling units, the rationale behind the standards
Related to size of lot and its intended use
Conventional vs comprehensively planned developments
Describe the Detached Housing and the various types found in this category.
Structures intended for the use of one household, or possibly one and a secondary individual or group (in-law suite). They are free standing on their own lot. Includes mobile homes.
Estate Lots
Larger; 650m2+
3-12dwellings per hectare (low density)
Large house, several parking spaces, accessory buildings, outdoor areas
Higher servicing costs
Conventional Lots
350-650m2 sites
12-22/ha
Get better lot area to local road ratio by using narrow roads
Can accommodate parking, accessory buildings, outdoor spaces, fairly large dwellings
Narrow Lots
Use where servicing and land costs are high
This lot type reduces costs over conventional lots
250-370m2
23-32/ha (higher density)
Fewer windows
Parking is incorporated into house
Built to max allowable height
Square Lots
Also reduces quantity of land needed by detached housing
250-440m2
18-30/ha
Servicing costs not lowered due to wide lot frontages
Advantages? Increased flexibility in house design, orientation of outdoor space
One-sided Lots (or Zero-Lot line housing)
Combines advantages of narrow and square
Can save in land servicing costs (blank wall on one property line)
Wide sideyard for outdoor space
Has easement on blank wall side for maintenance
18-30/ha
250-440m2
Mobile Home Subdivisions
Specially to accommodate single wide type models
2 approaches to mobile homes
Double wide virtually permanent installed on conventional subdivisions on lots ranging from estate to narrow
Home owners resist inclusion of mobile homes in their neighbourhoods
Solution? Create subdivisions designated for mobile homes
More dense (16-32/ha)
250-500m2
Compact comprehensively planned neighbourhoods can relate separate units to larger groups, creating a scale more in keeping with conventional neighbourhoods than what occurs when each mobile home is centered on its own lot
see https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHE58WbZdAi3tEcIk4UVwd8enMFC1A320ZJjTCqx64g/edit
when to use narrow lots?
where servicing and land cost are high and you want detached housing
it reduces costs over conventional lots
see https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHE58WbZdAi3tEcIk4UVwd8enMFC1A320ZJjTCqx64g/edit
advantage of square lot over conventional lot
reduces quantity of land needed
NOT reduced servicing costs however (due to wide lot frontages)
see https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHE58WbZdAi3tEcIk4UVwd8enMFC1A320ZJjTCqx64g/edit
advantage of one sided lots
Combines advantages of narrow and square
Can save in land servicing costs (blank wall on one property line)
Describe attached housing and its various types
Any housing form which is ground oriented and shares at least 1 wall with an adjacent unit
Duplex
2 attached dwellings intended for 1 family each
Structure containing 2 dwelling units within one building located on a single lot and which is used or intended to be used as the residences for 2 families
Can be joined by a party wall (semi detached unit) or one on top of another
Each structure gets a front and rear yard and 1 side yard
Efficient use of land, reduced servicing costs over single family homes
18-32/ha
250-440m2 lot
Can have private outdoor space, individual identity
Triplex or quadplex
3-4 unit structures
Can have sideyards, others wil get a front or backyard
Each must get adequate access to natural sunlight
20-40/ha
200-400m2 lot
Linked Houses
Similar to single family except they share a party wall that has an uninhabitable space on at least 1 side (like a garage or carport)
Lots can be narrower; cut land costs
Looks like detached housing though
20-40/ha
200-400m2
Townhouses
Attached to neighbourhing houses by party wall that extends the depth of the dwelling
Parking is within the townhouse
Each townhouse is contained on an individual lot
20-55/ha
150-400m2 (i guess this means savings in land costs?)
Rowhouses
Similar to townhouses except parking is no longer directly related to unit; its underground in garages or on a common off-site surface lot
Higher density! 32-80/ha
100-250m2
Patio Houses
L or U shapes structures surrounding a private outdoor room
Low building heights (sunlight access)
1 or 2 walls shared with adjacent units
Parkling is usually off-site
20-80/ha
100-400m2
see https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHE58WbZdAi3tEcIk4UVwd8enMFC1A320ZJjTCqx64g/edit
unique advantage of linked houses
they cut costs by being narrow, but still look like detached housing
Describe multi-family housing and its types. Key difference with these from others?
Stacked Townhouses
Similar density to apartments
50-200/ha
Still has separate identity through individual exterior entrances
Entrances for different units will be on different floors sometimes
Low-Rise apartments
2-3 stories
50-200/ha
Doesnt need elevators
May be conventionally planned
Mid-Rise Apartments
4-7 stories
Needs elevators
125/ha
High-Rise Apartments
7+ stories
200/ha
They are Developed by comprehensive planning
How can reducing of overall costs of residential development be achieved?
Take advantage of recommended standards which relate the amount of land and other amenities provided to the type of dwelling constructed
Types of standards of residential development
Lot size / unit, adequate space for various household activities, etc
Dwelling type (differing provisions for conventional subdivision developments vs comprehensively planned developments)
How are the preferences of expected market groups determined?
In the Community Plan: analyze demographic factors, community size, income, economic conditions
What do Lot Standards include?
Minimum lot size
The practical application of proposed density
Number of lots created on a ha ultimately determines number of dwellings
Determines range of possible housing forms, type of people who want to live there
Must conform to workable developments already built
Minimum lot width
Minimum setback must be accomodated and still allow a building with workable width, not too narrow
Suggested range of densities
Take into consideration road width, other site planning elements
Where are net densities established?
Established at the neighbourhood design stage
describe a Lot
a lot is any parcel, block, other area in which land is held or into which it is subdivided under LTA, Bare Land Strata Regulations (Strata Property Act)
What do Site Standards entail?
Elements of placement of structures on the lot
Parking requirements
Should be a specified distance from usable open space area
1 parking space is minimum
Can be covered or not
Can be limited if steet parking is allowed
Setbacks
Light and air assurances
Privacy from view
Access for maintenance
Can reduce front setbacks using landscaping, fences, screens
Comprehensive planning also reduced setback requirements (it could include emergency vehicle access from secondary routes)
Sideyards
Not used for outdoor activities
1.5m wide or so
Serve as maintenance access area, indirect sunlight and air access
Emergency vehicle access
Too costly in land consumption for privacy reasons alone
Rear setbacks
Good for backyards! Deep
Usable outdoor space
Intended for outdoor living
One area, not separate outdoor areas
No steeper than 5%
Maximum coverage of the lot by all allowable buildings
Measurement of the % relationship of land under dwellings, accessory buildings to total site area
Does not include driveways, paved areas
Ensures sufficient space for outdoor activities, setbacks, on-site circulation
Can be about 45%; higher density can be 60%
Auxiliary accessory buildings
Used for activities normal to residential uses
Garages
Carports
Storage sheds
Workshops
Greenhouses
Can be free standing or attached to the dwelling
Only one story
Can be closer to property line than dwelling itself
In conventional planning, not allowed in front yard. In comprehensively planned, it can be near font property line
Limiting street parking
Parking restrictions
High density demands
Pavement width limitations
Describe a Site
an area of land or surface of water consisting of one or more lots used as a unit devoted to a certain use or occupied by a building or structure or group of buildings or structures UNITED BY A COMMON INTEREST, USE, OR DEVELOPMENT
what do dwelling standards entail?
Dwelling standards are listed by dwelling type, differing provisions for conventional vs comprehensive developments. It is regarding the design and siting of buildings with reference to adjacent development
Standards are listed by dwelling type
Dwelling size is limited by maximum dwelling floor area
Floor space ratio (FSR) and maximum building height
What is maximum floor area?
greatest floor space which is allowed for a building or buildings on a land unit
calculated by multiplying the size of the zoning lot by the maximum FAR (floor area ratio)
What is FSR?
floor space ratio
A calculation used to express intensity of use on a particular site
How much living space has been designed into the plans for a dwelling
Compares usable floor area of buildings with the site area
Not parking spaces, balconies, terraces or lofts
Measured to inside edge of exterior walls
Should be .60 in conventional subdivisions, attached housing can have up to .75
Comprehensively planned can get higher ratios
What do recommended building heights do?
Strike balance between different pressures
Tall buildings: you get acceptable floor areas with minimum lot coverage
Small lot sizes, land cost savings
However, you get complications due to overshadowing adjacent outdoor space
Elevators take up room?
Building height measured from line connecting the midpoint of the front property line with the midpoint of the back property line through centre of site
see https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHE58WbZdAi3tEcIk4UVwd8enMFC1A320ZJjTCqx64g/edit
How to solve problems of high structures?
Use comprehensive planning!
It will consider problems of overshadowing
Staggered setbacks
Clustering
Stepped facades
Considerations of Allowable slope?
Allowable slope
Natural slope of site dictates manner in which property may be developed
Over 20% slope? Only use comprehensively planned development
In estate lots, site of dwelling must be approved by local government
General rules of thumb in standards?
As density goes up:
lot coverage allowance percentage goes up
maximum dwelling floor area goes up
Minimum lot size decreases (estate and conventional lots are largest, row houses and patio houses are the smallest; not counting multi home dwellings)
Row houses have smallest min width, then patio and town houses
Max building heights increase with attached housing
Describe building envelope
includes all the building components that separate the indoors from the outdoors (exterior walls, foundations, roof, windows, doors)
That area of a lot which is left over after the setbacks have been deducted
There are usually specified minimum building envelope areas as well
It must be reasonable in configuration and adequate for the construction of a typical standard house plan
You must prove that a standard house can be constructed on the site
Standard design is provided in catalogue form by some of the major house design firms
What do zoning bylaws regulate? What does this help do?
Zoning bylaws
Size of buildings AND lots
Their usage
Sets guidelines; help to align business objectives of developers (marketable plan) with maximum yield from land (planning objective)
Minimum lot size is more of a guideline than a standard; Approving Officer may relax specific requirements
A general planning objective?
maximum yield of use from land
How is privacy maintained in comprehensively planning developments?
Landscaping and screening
Developers primary objective?
Create a marketable plan instead of producing a maximum yield
How are lot sizes and shapes controlled?
Minimums:
Lot area
Frontage
Setbacks
Side yard
Side yard of flanking lot
Rear yard
Building envelope areas
What does Minimum Lot Area do? Typical old standard? Newer standard?
Will help govern total density or yield of a development proposal
Range of dimensions that can be used are governed by a series of max and mins
Old standard
8700 square feet for a 66 X 132 foot lot
Or 722m2 for 19m X 38m
7200 square feet for a 60 X 120 foot lot
Newer standard
18m X 36m
Minimum Frontage. What does it allow?
Lot frontage is that portion of the actual legal boundary of the lot that fronts onto the access road
Varies depending on lot configuration
For a straight road alignment with rectangular lot and 660m2 min area, min frontage is 18m
On irregular shaped lots?
Noted as a minimum that will allow a driveway, provision of utility services (can be much smaller)
Adequate site area in rectangular configuration for an adequately sized building envelope
Minimum Setbacks. Typical size? Reasons for side setbacks? What is an exception?
The dimensions that determine the size of the building area or envelope on a lot
The front, rear and side yard setbacks
7m for front, 12m for back
So, dont build less than 7m from front property line for example
Movement, privacy space
pexception is Flankage
Side of a lot that abuts a road allowance on a corner lot
Side yard here is 2x as much
Dramatically affects size of building envelope; the reason corner lots are bigger than other lots
Where is the minimum width of the building envelope derived from?
The standard rectangular lot with minimum frontage
(
What is a way of explaining the minimum width of a building envelope?
It is the minimum lot width minus the 2 side yards
Minimum depth based on?
Min depth is based on the building design requirement for the type of development being designed
describe minimum lot dimensions
We can determine max width and max depth lots that can be considered in a design once we know the lot area, adequacy of the building envelope, setback requirements (the primary control)
primary control of minimum lot dimensions
Lot area and adequacy of the building envelope, based on setback requirements
Another control on max building envelopes?
Site coverage
A major factor in building design
Not a concern at time of subdivision design
In some situations, given the minimum building envelope, the min depth AND min width cannot be used together (given the setbacks)
what to do if there is insufficient lot depth?
increase the lot width
YOU MUST CONSULT https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHE58WbZdAi3tEcIk4UVwd8enMFC1A320ZJjTCqx64g/edit PAGE 19
Considerations for corner lots?
Larger lot is recommended
On irregular lots, check that house plan will fit in envelope
Requirements for lot sketches
Accuracy
Calculate approx lot dimensions and areas with reasonable accuracy
Total number of lots on preliminary plan require detailed calculation and layout by BC Land Surveyor
Will confirm minimum areas and widths
Lots for a Cul-de-sac. What do they do?
Cul-de-sac functions
Relieve monotony of rectangular lots and grid system
Must still comply with required setbacks and areas, increased challenges
Important feature in neighbourhood creation
Command higher sale prices
Efficient from construction and servicing point of view
Less asphalt
Less curbing
Less length of sewer
special challenges of cul de sacs?
efficiency in land use
Subdivision designers try to maximise area usage; use a variety of cul de sac shapes
How to prepare cul de sac template?
Layout with respect to lot lines and building envelopes must be established
MUST SEE https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHE58WbZdAi3tEcIk4UVwd8enMFC1A320ZJjTCqx64g/edit
Steps for Cul-de-sac template creation
Prepare sketch that shows road ROW, centreline and circular
property line created by a cul-de-sac of required minimum radius
Construct another curricular line with radius which is the cul-de-sac radius plus the minimum front yard setback
The building setback line
Lots must be the minimum width at this point
Construct straight lines tangent to the setback curve
Length of line is the minimum lot width
\
Construct straight lines parallel to the side property lines at sideyard offset lines
Determine building envelope depth required to meet the minimum envelope size and plot building envelope
Plot minimum rear yard dimension and construct a preliminary rear yard boundary
Check the lot for minimum lot area requirements
Calculate by geometric shapes or by superimposing a standard sized minimum lot area on cul-de-sac
MUST SEE https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHE58WbZdAi3tEcIk4UVwd8enMFC1A320ZJjTCqx64g/edit
Variations of cul-de-sacs. When are panhandle lots necessary?
Corners Bulbs
Utilized to increase available frontage
Provides more lots
Constructed on same principles as a cul-de-sac
Template should provide a pattern for these lot configurations at corners
These lots are usually above minimum requirements; number of sides and requirements other than area
Not very efficient in terms of land use (less dense)
Offset by their improved marketability
MUST SEE https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHE58WbZdAi3tEcIk4UVwd8enMFC1A320ZJjTCqx64g/edit
pan handles needed when
Not common
Overcomes difficulties in giving secluded lots legal access to municipal roads
MUST SEE https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHE58WbZdAi3tEcIk4UVwd8enMFC1A320ZJjTCqx64g/edit
In some instances where large estates are being created with a central driveway or entrance, gateway provision has been made for a series of panhandle lots
Provides common core for access and services; seen as a viable method of subdivision
They are necessary when the land is abutting a natural watercourse (must be preserved) or land on a bluff. Also, when some highways are classified as restricted access, and access must be preserved to another road
Explain the difference between lot frontage and lot width. Where are widths generally determined?
Lot Frontage
Portion of legal boundary of lot that ‘fronts’ onto main access road
Usually a min of around 18m, OR the minimum that will allow driveway and provision of utility services
Lot width
Width from property line to adjacent property line
Determined by municipal bylaws? Or subdivision design phase?
Lot Sketch. Confirmed by land surveyor
Minimum lot width can be measured back from the frontage on irregular shaped lots (cul de sacs)
Generally the narrowest point of the lot at the building envelope
Lot width and frontage can be same length if lot is rectangular
Why is the maximum coverage specified for dwellings and out buildings?
Need a certain amount of outdoor space for activities, vegetation, possibly drainage
Remember: its the % relationship between area of land under dwellings and total lot size (includes accessory buildings)
A means of control to provide a consistent planning scheme in a neighbourhood
Maximum dwelling floor areas (FSR) are specified to prohibit or control what aspect of dwelling design
Used to limit density in residential areas (not correct?)
Limits the amount of people a building can hold without controlling its overall shape
NO THEY ARE USED TO CONTROL HEIGHT
check Figure 2.1 in the text and answer the questions (number 4 of self help questions)
how do narrow lots get cost savings?
parking is in house
built to max height
