Blueprints for the three winning designs in Nelson’s laneway house design competition will cost builders $1,000, council decided at its Monday meeting.
That fee will allow the purchase of plans pre-approved for a city building permit. This will relieve home-owners of having to hire an architect or purchase stock plans online.
The fee would be transferred entirely to the house designer as a royalty. The plans are expected to be ready for purchase by the end of March.
The winning entries are adaptable to flat or sloped terrain — a feature required in the contest specifications.
The competition also specified high standards in terms of energy efficiency and affordability.
Architect renderings and floor plans of the three winning designs are attached below.
The city received 29 entries from across the country.
By contrast, according to city planner Alex Thumm at the council meeting, the City of Kelowna ran an infill design competition in 2016 that attracted 10 entries and the City of Edmonton’s 2019 Infill Design Competition attracted 30 proposals in a competition open to the entire world.
In another rural-urban comparison, Nelson now has 24 laneway houses built or under construction, which includes 11 applications since 2018. In 2018, Nelson received 16 times more laneway house applications per capita than Toronto.
Nelson also has nearly double the number of laneway houses per capita than Vancouver, Thumm said.
Councillor Keith Page jokingly proposed that council pass a resolution to brand itself the laneway home capital of Canada.
Only City of Nelson property owners will be eligible for the sale price set by council. Non-residents will be required to negotiate a price directly with the original designer.
Related:
• Nelson announces laneway house design competition winners, invites votes for people’s choice award
• Nelson council approves laneway housing design competition
Laneway Housing Design Comp… by BillMetcalfe on Scribd
