Custom Home Designer in Burnaby BC

Burnaby is a beast all its own!

When it comes to custom home design in Burnaby, the rules — and the opportunities — have changed dramatically over the years. Burnaby has seen several major zoning changes recently, and they will definitely have an impact on the look and feel of residential neighbourhoods throughout the city.

Historically, Burnaby was a fairly conservative city when it came to new home design. Unlike Surrey and Langley, where basements have long been common, Burnaby previously included much of the basement area within the overall allowable floor area and also imposed fairly strict building-height limits.

If you look at many Burnaby homes built through the 1990s, 2000s and into the mid-2010s, you'll often find crawlspaces occupying a large portion of what could otherwise have been a full basement. By the late 2010s, those regulations began to change, making full basements much more practical for new custom homes.

Then came 2024 — the Wild West!

Changes to Burnaby's residential zoning opened the door to dramatically larger homes and building heights exceeding 40 feet in some circumstances. You'll see one of those homes in the gallery below... can you guess which one it is?

After some very large homes began appearing, Burnaby City Council moved quickly to rein in portions of the zoning bylaw, including restrictions on the number of storeys. But the architectural landscape of Burnaby is still changing rapidly.

I think 15 years from now we're going to see a fascinating divide between older Burnaby homes and the new generation of custom homes being built under today's zoning regulations.

And I have to say — I love designing custom homes in Burnaby.

Why?

Because Burnaby's zoning allows a designer to have the flexibility for create wonderful exteriors!

The combination of challenging lots, changing zoning regulations and clients who appreciate great architecture makes Burnaby one of my favourite places to design a custom home.