Burnaby developers are set to build more apartments with unit sizes local politicians have called “ridiculous” and “not livable.”
“A 330 feet bachelor unit is not a livable place. A 450 one-bedroom is a very tiny space,” he said at the June 1 meeting. “It’s getting ridiculous that you could expect someone to live in 350 or less square feet, so we really have to look at that,” he said. “I think for a single person, it may be okay. But it’s very small for a couple, or I think for seniors who may have some mobility issues that they need a little more space to move around,” Calendino told the NOW.
“I think we should have uniform size whether it’s rental or strata. I think staff may look at it in terms of affordability: more square is more expensive,” Calendino said. Both the mayor and Calendino supported reviewing a range of required unit sizes for apartments, as a potential alternative to increasing the minimum unit size, as some people, like those who work long hours in film and tech sectors, may prefer the affordability that comes with a smaller size.“It’s a big concern for me that some people’s answer to the affordability piece is just to make units smaller and smaller. And I’m not sure that that’s a very positive step,” Hurley said.