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B2 Arch proposes a rental single stair building at ~3 FAR. Lots of 2 and 3 br units. All corner units. Quite dense at ~2.9FSR (vs our 1.6 FSR prototypes)… I’m hearing that ~2.8 fsr is where rental pencils at the moment. Glad to see a project moving ahead. dailyhive.com/vancouver/21...

I don't usually second guess other's design work, without understanding the site and brief in depth, but I am invested in the outcomes for single stair code reform. So, here's a 50'x150' lot with our Five/Six prototype and a lane building. Keeping the same underground parkade. Only 1.7FSR vs 2.9

There’s clearly a tradeoff here, between the number of new units and the viability of rental versus strata.

If you build to the property line for the front massing, but keep a shallow floor plate, then you get to ~2.0FSR. If additional redevelopments are done next door, then you maintain a 20' light well.

Do you have thoughts on political/policy opportunities to address the "blank wall on SFH lot line" problem you discuss here, and reorient zoning codes from units facing out small side yards to wall-to-wall courtyard style?

A couple of ideas: 1) Zero side setback in exchange for reduced lot coverage 2) Zero side setback permissible by agreement of neighbor (permitting payoffs, multi-lot purchasing, and adjacent lot development handshakes) 3) Zero side setback on blocks with high redevelopment/turnover likelihood

Yes, these have been the tools I've been thinking about... mostly #3

Berkeley, California has the same narrow-side-yard, high-FAR arrangement in our zoning code, and if we can get political alignment to change things simultaneous with single stair adoption and before the next big boom, we could pull off the small-lot courtyard block form for a better environment.