As housing affordability continues to be a problem across the province, some Kelowna homeowners are trying something different.

Kelownasa国际传媒檚 building and permittingsa国际传媒檚 manager says the city has had two container homes built in the region in the last two years.

sa国际传媒淲e have two container houses built to the Canadian Standards Association A-277 standard that are presently occupied as carriage homes,sa国际传媒� said building and permitting manager Doug Patan.

Patan said people considering the eco-friendly approach to living must have their chosen container inspected and approved on a federal level before applying for a building permit.

Container homes must meet the same requirements as factory built modular housing, he said, called the CSA A-277 standard.

sa国际传媒淥nce the unit is completed a placard is placed for the consumers and municipalities indicating compliance as a modular home,sa国际传媒� Patan said.

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The CSA A-277 standard specifies the procedure for certification of prefabricated buildings, and partially or fully enclosed modules and panels for buildings of any occupancy.

After this procedure is completed, Paton says, the next step is to find a section of land available which suits your chosen home and apply for the mandatory building permits.

sa国际传媒淎 plumbing and natural gas permit for the site servicing and connections to the A-277 unit are required through Building and Permitting at the City of Kelowna and electrical service inspections through Technical Safety BC,sa国际传媒� he said.

Environmental assessments may be needed before putting the shovel to the sand because container homes may have to classify as a carriage home to be built in certain zoning areas.

sa国际传媒淎 container house may be used as a carriage home within Kelowna once the property has been re-zoned to the sa国际传媒淐sa国际传媒� designation without an environmental assessment. An assessment would only be required if the unit was being placed within an environmentally sensitive area requiring a development permit through Urban Land Use,sa国际传媒� said Patan.

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Local realtor Sally Hollingsworth is continuing to research container homes or sa国际传媒渆arth homessa国际传媒� to see if they are a viable option for future home buyers.

Hollingsworth says the smaller sized houses are often built underground or built into a slope of a hill, which makes for better insulation and saves on heat, making them a more environment friendly option.

sa国际传媒淭he insulation allows less heating and cooling the house, as the earth homes have average temperatures of 16 C year round.sa国际传媒� Said Hollingsworth.

sa国际传媒淓arth homessa国际传媒� not only help on your energy bill but also cuts construction costs, as the lot sizes are smaller and it costs around $4,000 per container, which can be stacked and designed to the owners preference.

Building permit applications are available at . The Citysa国际传媒檚 policy is to issue within ten workings days if the application is complete with all the required accompanying information.

laryn.gilmour@blackpress.ca
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