Burnaby to look at incentives to relocate homes set for demolition

Construction in Burnaby isn’t a new sight—but one Vancouver-based developer wants to make the removal of single-family homes a little more sustainable.

In fact, rather than demolishing homes at all, Renewal Home Development CEO Glyn Lewis wants Burnaby council’s help in moving single-family homes elsewhere instead.

At a city council meeting earlier this month, Lewis told councillors that the city could help by adding incentives for developers who choose to relocate homes rather than demolishing them for new builds.

Renewal Home Development says that every year, about 2,800 homes across Metro Vancouver are demolished. It estimates that around 540 of those homes “are in good to excellent condition and worth trying to relocate and repurpose.”

That has a huge environmental impact. Lewis told councillors that the demolition of an average 2,000 sq. ft. wood-framed house wastes about 65 tonnes of embodied carbon.

About 100 tonnes of material waste from that house ends up in landfills—comprising nearly half of all the waste in our local landfills.

Instead, Lewis says, those 540 homes could be relocated and repurposed to First Nations communities or for non-profit housing in coastal British Columbia.

The company says relocating a home has several benefits—it’s low carbon and better for the environment, since the home itself has already been built; it’s “ultra low cost” in comparison with a brand new build; and it provides good-quality housing in a quick time frame.

So what could Burnaby do to help companies like Renewal Home Development with their mission?

Lewis says a hurdle for developers who may be interested in taking part is timing. He pointed to an instance in Burnaby where a developer decided to go ahead with demolition because they didn’t want to risk delaying construction.

An obstacle on Renewal Home Development’s side, meanwhile, is that it can be hard to find and get in contact with developers before demolition goes ahead.

The company says the city can help by creating “early green removal permits” that would incentivize developers and homeowners to look into relocation.

Such a permit would actually save the developers themselves time and money, Lewis said. And the company says relocation would actually constitute a significant cost savings for the developer over full demolition—but developers are often more worried about time and rising interest costs.

“I can tell you from all my conversations with developers, the thing they value most is time. So let’s create an incentive for them to do the right thing.”

Lewis says the city can also make it easier to publicly identify developers and homeowners so that Renewal Home Development can get in contact with them directly before it’s too late.

He noted that Richmond asks developers to check off a box on their forms if they’re willing to be contacted by a relocation company.

“It’s not the best solution because you’re ultimately just hoping that they’ll check a box. There really needs to be an incentive for them to provide that information,” he said.

He also pointed out that demolition permit applications often list the general contractor as the point of contact—but because general contractors are hired to carry out the demolition itself, they don’t have any incentive to engage with relocation companies.

“10,000 single-family homes will be demolished in the next five years across the region. And this is tragic while we’re facing a housing crisis, especially in exurban communities, in First Nations communities, and [when] one in 10 British Columbians lack core housing,” Lewis said.

Mayor Mike Hurley thanked Lewis for his presentation, saying that the idea of incentivizing relocation is “definitely something we should be working on moving forward.”

Coun. Daniel Tetrault, meanwhile, introduced a motion asking staff to investigate and report back to council on the feasibility of implementing municipal solutions, like the ones laid out by Renewal Home Development, “for the purpose of saving, repurposing and relocating Burnaby homes before demolition.”

Tetrault said the idea of relocation makes economic and environmental sense, and is a reasonable solution in the face of the housing crisis.

Tetrault’s motion was carried unanimously.