New Home Construction - One and Two Family Dwellings
New construction in the City of Vancouver is regulated by three main by-laws:
- the Zoning and Development By-law,
- Parking By-law, and
- Vancouver Building By-law.
New 1 and 2 Family Dwellings are relatively uncomplicated projects and it is possible to design a house that complies with the requirements set out in the by-laws. If your plans do comply with the three by-laws, they will be reviewed as Outright Development/Building Applications. The Outright Review Process typically takes 3 weeks from the date of application and results in the issuance of a Combined Permit for both Development and Building. On average, 800 new 1 and 2 Family Dwelling Applications are processed annually in the outright stream.
Plans which do not comply with the requirements set out in the three by-laws or where discretionary decisions are required will be reviewed as Conditional Development Applications and will follow a separate and longer process than the Outright Review Process. The Conditional Review Process, which usually takes 8 to 10 weeks, results in separate Permits for Development and Building. The longer processing time allows for a more detailed review by a staff team, neighbourhood notification and revisions to drawings in response to issues identified in the review process. Applications are typically streamed into the Conditional Review Process for one of two reasons:
- site conditions, such as the shape or slope of the lot, make it difficult to comply with by-law requirements, or
- the developer hopes to be granted incentives, such as increased building height or floor area, by providing more neighbourly design elements.
For more detailed information on the Outright and Conditional review processes for 1 and 2 Family Dwellings, please click on the links below:
To reduce waste going to the landfill or incinerator and help create new green jobs, the City of Vancouver is encouraging deconstruction as an alternative to demolition for 1 and 2 Family Dwellings. For more information, read the available brochure 
(734kb) and requirements (447kb) for the program!
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