POLICY REPORT
DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING
Date: July 15, 1997
Dept. File No. JHD
CC File: 4551
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Director of City Plans on behalf of Land Use and Development
SUBJECT: Accessible and Usable Dwellings Project (AUDP)
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT the individuals and organizations participating in the
Accessible and Usable Dwellings Project, as noted in Appendix
B, be thanked for their contributions thus far.
B. THAT the Accessible and Usable Dwellings Project draft report,
"Dwellings Designed for Everyone" (Appendix A), be received
for information and forwarded for comment to individuals and
organizations with an interest in "aging-in-place" and
"independent-living" as they relate to Vancouver's residential
building stock.
FURTHER THAT staff report back, after receipt of comments,
with the final report of the Accessible and Usable Dwellings
Project and recommendations for further Council actions.
C. THAT, in the interim period before the final Accessible and
Usable Dwellings Project report is submitted, staff report on
any implementation initiatives undertaken by others that are
consistent with the recommendations of the draft report and
that may benefit from participation by the City.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENT
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of A,
B and C.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council policy is reflected in the Vancouver Building By-law which
requires that residential buildings regulated by Section 3 (generally
larger multiple dwellings) provide access for people with disabilities
from the street through a building entrance to the entry door of each
dwelling unit.
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to share the draft report of the
Accessible and Usable Dwellings Project with Council prior to wider
public circulation for comments. The ideas proposed in the draft report
were developed by working groups who represented various relevant
interest groups (see Appendix B). Staff assisted by assembling the
material into the draft report.
The draft report, "Dwellings Designed for Everyone", recommends specific
design and implementation strategies to achieve the project's goal that
our dwelling stock better accommodate seniors and people with
disabilities. The working group proposes next steps to be undertaken by
the City of Vancouver to continue this initiative.
In this Council report, the project mandate and draft recommendations
are summarized and an outline of issues for broader public discussion is
provided. Following receipt of comments, staff will report back with
the final project report and recommendations for further actions. While
awaiting comments and finalization of the project report, staff will
report on any initiatives being undertaken by others that are consistent
with the draft recommendations and that may benefit from the City s
participation.
BACKGROUND
On September 12, 1995, Council resolved to pursue the "Accessible and
Usable Dwellings Project" to increase the general accessibility and
adaptability of Vancouver's housing stock. A large working committee
representing the interests of users, designers, developers, academics
and other governments was established to oversee the project. From this
group various teams of participants were established to undertake
specific aspects of the work. Team and committee structure and
membership information is attached in Appendix B.
On November 7, 1996, Council received a status report on the AUDP and
resolved that staff report back after reviewing the recommendations with
the Special Council Advisory Committees on Seniors and Disability
Issues. A previous draft of the report was considered by the two Council
committees. (Specific comments and resolutions are attached in
Appendices C and D.) The revised draft will be considered by these
committees as part of the proposed consultation process.
AUDP REPORT SUMMARY
The draft AUDP report, "Dwellings Designed for Everyone", is attached in
Appendix A. The following is a summary of the purpose of the project
and the draft final recommendations arising from the work of project
participants.
Report Purpose
Mandate
To better respond to the dwelling needs of seniors and people with
disabilities by recommending strategies that will result in Vancouver's
residential building stock becoming more suitable for aging-in-place and
independent-living.
Goal
That all dwellings (market and non-market from one-room apartments to
single-family houses) be designed and constructed with potential to be
lived in by anyone (including children, adults and seniors with
temporary or permanent disabilities) at anytime (when and as changes in
physical ability happen) anywhere (throughout Vancouver).
Proposal
To achieve the mandate and goal by making dwellings and residential
buildings more accessible, usable and adaptable.
Objectives
To develop design criteria and an implementation plan to achieve
improved accessibility, usability and adaptability.
Process
The project was undertaken by teams of people representing all
stakeholder groups with an interest in these issues and/or residential
development.
Draft Recommendations
Design Strategy
The proposed strategy includes draft recommendations with respect to the
format and content of design criteria. Generally, these are:
- that design criteria should be articulated using a "performance
objectives" rather than a "prescriptive solutions" format; and
- that design criteria should address abilities needs in a general
way and focus on the most common and critical needs experienced by
a wide range of possible occupants. To do this, and balance user
and developer interests, design expectations have been established
using the concepts "raising the baseline", "minimum accessible
area" and "adaptability/actualization". (These are further
described in the AUDP report.)
Implementation Strategy
The proposed implementation strategy includes draft recommendations with
respect to an implementation approach and implementation measures.
Included are:
- that the design expectations should be achieved using a voluntary
approach in order to create a co-operative, creative and flexible
implementation environment and to avoid the pitfalls of traditional
regulatory implementation techniques; and
- that voluntary "compliance" should be encouraged and facilitated
through programs that aim to "spark" the latent market for these
kinds of dwellings and "underwrite" the risks for developers and
consumers wishing to attempt change. The programs should be
organized as complementary knowledge, incentive and certification
programs and should be undertaken by various "partners", of which
the City of Vancouver would be one.
Further Work
The AUDP draft recommendations lay out a framework in which to achieve
abilities objectives that are ultimately intended to operate in a
decentralized, essentially non-governmental and self-propelling fashion.
Further work will be necessary to develop this framework to the point
where it moves on its own momentum. In this context, the draft report
also recommends that the City continue its involvement. The specific
ways in which the City might do this should become more obvious during
the proposed broader discussion of the draft report and recommendations,
which are outlined below.
INTERIM RECOMMENDATIONS
The draft report is being submitted by the project participants with two
interim recommendations. These are:
- that the draft report, "Dwellings Designed for Everyone", be
circulated, with a request for comment, to the individuals and
organizations represented on the working committee, as well as, to
others who have expressed an interest in the project; and
- that Council consider supporting implementation programs being
undertaken by others while the draft report and recommendations are
under discussion.
DISCUSSION
When this project began, there was an expectation on the part of many
participants that the outcomes would include a set of prescriptive
design criteria that would be applied to residential development by
making them requirements of the Vancouver Building By-law. Taken
together, the AUDP draft recommendations propose a very different
approach.
The design strategy proposes performance objectives in lieu of
prescriptive solutions to maximize the designer's flexibility in
addressing them, to better accommodate the pace of technological change
and to support development of solutions that enhance rather than detract
from the marketability of the dwellings. The implementation strategy
proposes various means of exciting consumer and industry interest in the
development of more accessible, usable and adaptable dwellings in order
to support a more direct relationship between consumers and developers
and to make incorporation of design features a competitive tool.
These complementary strategies may not be the easiest, quickest or most
tangible methods of achieving change. However, project participants
believe they will create a deeper understanding of the issues and better
address the interests of all stakeholders. As such, they should result
in a more substantive and sustainable response to the dwelling needs of
seniors and people with disabilities.
At the beginning of the project, many participants challenged the basic
proposal that we address the dwelling needs of seniors and people with
disabilities through changes to the general residential building stock.
Subsequently, commentators questioned the directions the design and
implementation strategies were taking. Some suggested that the proposed
strategies had "no practical application" (Disability Issues Committee).
Others challenged the voluntary implementation approach. Yet others
challenged the expression of design expectations as "high level"
performance objectives rather than as more concrete design solutions.
Circulation of the draft report will provide an opportunity for further
discussion of the following issues:
1. Special needs housing versus changes to the general building stock?
The project aims to improve opportunities for aging-in-place
and independent-living by changing the way all dwellings are
designed and constructed rather than by developing more
"special needs" units and developments. Some people believe
the second approach is more appropriate and workable.
2. The performance objectives versus prescriptive solutions approach?
Performance objectives are more "open-ended" than prescriptive
solutions and require a better understanding of the problem in
order to resolve it. Some people would rather be provided
with a "solution" and forgo the flexibility that is made
available by the performance objectives approach.
3. General accessibility improvements versus targeting specific
disabilities?
The design expectations attempt to address the general needs
of a wide range of users to a degree that is practical,
economical and, ultimately, marketable when applied to all
dwelling and residential building construction. Some people
feel that, in lieu of this general approach, the report should
more directly address needs related to specific disabilities.
4. The voluntary versus mandatory implementation approach?
Voluntary implementation relies on consumers and developers
fully embracing the objectives of aging-in-place and
independent-living and, consequently, making ongoing efforts
to surmount apparent obstacles to achieving them. Some people
feel that consumers may not be empowered enough and developers
not committed enough to effect change. Hence, mandatory
implementation would be preferable.
Additionally, in the context of the voluntary implementation approach,
comments would be useful regarding:
5. The proposed implementation program?
The proposed implementation programs try to provide "something
for everyone". Some people may believe these are not the
right ones or they will not be effective. Some programs may
be more critical than others and should be made a priority.
6. The proposed partnership structure?
Unlike BC Hydro's "PowerSmart Program", which provides a range
of knowledge, incentive and certification programs that were
largely developed and funded under one "umbrella", the
proposed implementation programs and partnerships of the AUDP
would be much more decentralized. Some people feel that this
structure is too loose to ensure strong and lasting results.
Other Municipalities
Two other municipalities are actively undertaking initiatives in this
area. The City of Richmond is proposing "universal design guidelines"
that will be applied in a "negotiated" process to townhouse and
apartment development. The policy would require that development
proposals be accompanied with a rationale provided by a design expert
explaining how the design guidelines have been addressed and in what
percentage of the units.
The City of North Vancouver has recently adopted accessibility design
criteria that will be applied to multi-unit development on a voluntary
basis for a trial period of one year.
CONCLUSIONS
The Accessible and Usable Dwellings Project has involved highly regarded
representatives of the various stakeholder groups in a process that
required participants (including city staff) to look at issues in new
ways. The results of the process are draft design and implementation
strategies that focus on providing a creative and adaptable environment
in which the dwelling needs of seniors and people with disabilities can
be better met.
Wider discussion of the project proposal and draft recommendations is
appropriate before Council considers whether to pursue these directions.
In the interim, Council may be approached to participate in
implementation programs being initiated by "partners". Should
opportunities arise, they will be reported to Council.
APPENDICES A TO D on file in City Clerk's Office
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