Journal
The Journal.
Plain-language guides to custom home building and renovation, plus multiplex development, zoning, and what BC's new housing rules mean for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley homeowners and investors.
Zoning & Policy
Frequent transit areas: how transit unlocks more homes on your lot
Being within 400 metres of a prescribed bus stop can raise the homes your lot is allowed to hold from four to six under BC's housing rules. Here is what "frequent transit" precisely means, where the transit-oriented tier goes even further, and how to tell if your lot qualifies.
Trent Praski · July 19, 2026 · 8 min read
Zoning & Policy
New Westminster and Coquitlam: SSMUH across the eastern suburbs
The same provincial housing law that reshaped Vancouver landed in New Westminster and Coquitlam too. Here is how two very different eastern cities translated it into local rules, including one detail about Coquitlam's transit that surprises almost every owner.
Trent Praski · July 15, 2026 · 8 min
Zoning & Policy
Richmond's RSM zoning: building a multiplex on your lot
Richmond rezoned about 27,000 single-family lots into four RSM sub-zones for small-scale multi-unit housing. Here is what each one lets you build, and the local rules, flood levels, sub-zone lot sizes, the sixth-unit condition, that quietly shape the real number of homes.
Trent Praski · July 11, 2026 · 8 min
Zoning & Policy
Burnaby's small-scale multi-unit housing rules in 2026
Burnaby put its SSMUH zoning in force in 2024, and by 2026 there's enough built experience to see how it actually works. Here's what the R1 district permits, how the transit bonus reaches further here, and how it differs from Vancouver.
Trent Praski · July 7, 2026 · 7 min
Zoning & Policy
Vancouver's R1-1 zoning: a plain-language guide for homeowners
Vancouver folded most of its single-family neighbourhoods into one zone: R1-1. Here's what it permits, what "Residential Inclusive" really means, and how the rental option changes the math.
Trent Praski · July 1, 2026 · 10 min
Let's talk about your property
A conversation, not a commitment.
Whether you're curious about the multiplex value of your land or looking to partner on a missing-middle build, we're here to start the conversation.