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British Columbia
A Vancouver Island municipality is pushing the state to marque changes to its elevator rules successful a bid to marque homes much accessible and affordable.
Advocates accidental existent rules marque elevators excessively costly to instal successful smaller flat buildings
Shaurya Kshatri · CBC News
· Posted: Jun 16, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 16
A Vancouver Island municipality is pushing the state to marque changes to its elevator rules successful a bid to marque homes much accessible and affordable.
The District of Saanich precocious voted unanimously to nonstop a solution to the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM), calling connected the state to "legalize" smaller and little costly European-style elevators successful low- and mid-rise buildings in which an elevator would different not beryllium installed.
Coun. Teale Phelps Bondaroff, who brought the question forward, says the thought stemmed from a accidental speech implicit coffee.
"I was talking to immoderate residents ... and 1 of them conscionable casually brought up European elevator standards," helium said.
"It's 1 of those ... conversations astatine a java shop, starring to perchance a argumentation that mightiness marque lodging a small much affordable and a small much accessible."
A 2024 report from the Center for Building successful North America, which Phelps Bondaroff's question cites, recovered elevator prices successful Canada and the U.S. are 3 times higher than successful comparable buildings successful Europe.
According to the report, Canada has conscionable 4 elevators per 1,000 people, compared to 15 successful South Korea and much than 20 successful countries similar Spain and Greece.
Currently, B.C. abides by the Canadian Standards Association's B44 usher which requires ample elevator cabins that tin accommodate a stretcher. In practice, they are costly, says Phelps Bondaroff, and that means astir builders debar including elevators successful walk-up townhouses oregon tiny flat buildings.
According to the motion, the 2024 B.C. Building Code requires elevators successful each residential buildings, though ample one- and two-storey buildings and tiny buildings with 3 storeys oregon less are exempt.
"In [these] low- and mid-rise buildings, it isn't a prime betwixt oversized, overbuilt American elevators versus smaller, cost-effective ones," Phelps Bondaroff said. "It's a prime betwixt European elevators oregon nary elevator astatine all."
"If we privation seniors, parents with strollers, and radical with accessibility needs to entree homes successful walk-ups and smaller apartments, we request much options."
WATCH | How smaller elevators could summation accessibility: Saanich calls for gathering codification changes successful B.C. to let smaller, cheaper elevators
The deficiency of affordable elevator options has real-world consequences for radical with mobility challenges, says accessibility advocator Susan Bains.
"When I utilized to unrecorded successful a condo with 24 units, determination was lone 1 elevator," Bains said. "If it was down for maintenance, you'd beryllium waiting ... you're truly conscionable relying connected 1 elevator."
Bains hopes that allowing much compact and affordable elevators volition promote developers to see them adjacent successful buildings wherever they aren't presently required by code.
CBC News has reported connected the impacts of breached elevators crossed Canada implicit the past decade, and heard stories from seniors and radical with disabilities who've been mostly stuck successful their apartments for weeks oregon months portion their building's sole elevator was down.
Some told of however they had to hold for others to transportation them up the stairs oregon take 10-minute breaks betwixt each flight. One advocator described that immoderate residents were near to crawl down the stairs of their multi-storey building, portion unit astatine a care location feared getting burned while hauling blistery nutrient upstairs to residents.
Cheaper maintenance
Sam Holland, a manager of the lodging advocacy radical Homes for Living, said maintaining European-style elevators costs less.
"European elevators aren't conscionable cheaper to install, they are besides much affordable to support implicit time," helium said successful a statement.
"That's due to the fact that they usage globally standardized parts that are easier to root and service, dissimilar the costly and often delayed components we trust connected successful North America."
Mark Bernhardt, erstwhile president of the Canadian Home Builders Association of B.C., supports the thought of smaller elevators. He says successful 1 caller low-rise rental project, installing a azygous elevator outgo $135,000.
"That's 1 of the biggest enactment items successful the full building," helium said. "So if determination is thing we tin bash to shave that down, that is thing that location builders perfectly support."
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says the state is unfastened to the idea.
"We successful B.C. person been unfastened ... erstwhile it comes to changes to gathering codification ... to let for much affordability arsenic good arsenic much convenience," helium said.
- Broken elevators reaching 'crisis' proportions crossed Canada
"[This proposal] whitethorn really code outgo pressures that we are seeing ... and [it] whitethorn besides assistance america diversify distant from the U.S., which I deliberation is needed fixed the challenges we person now," helium said, referring to President Donald Trump's commercialized war.
If adopted astatine the UBCM convention, the solution would go portion of the organization's ceremonial lobbying effort to the province.
Kahlon says the state would past see nationalist consultation connected the substance and could bring the treatment to a nationalist level.
"But erstwhile thing makes consciousness successful B.C, we're besides prepared to spell guardant alone," helium said.
The UBCM normal is scheduled for Sept. 22–26 successful Victoria.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shaurya Kshatri is simply a web writer and newsman astatine CBC News Vancouver. You tin scope him astatine [email protected]
With files from Sohrab Sandhu and Cory Correia
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