saskatoon home fall 2008

$4.95 • DESIGN • ARCHITECTURE • DÉCOR • ECOLIFE • FALL 2008

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SASKATOON HOME FALL 20082

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SASKATOON HOME FALL 2008 3

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TRANSFORMATIONSC O N T E N T S

7 F r o n t l i n e s■ RiverGreen Development Design onTarget■ Green Week Proclaimed in Saskatoon■ Saskatoon to Preserve Night Sky■ Saskatchewan Housing Starts to Hit25-year High: CMHC■ Saskatchewan Building PermitsUp in June■ Single-detached Housing StartsFall in July■ Real Estate Association DisputesMerrill Lynch Report■ Feds Announce Affordable HousingGrants for Municipalities■ Local Home Sales Cooling

■ Housing Affordability Task Force Report■ Boom Causes Scarcity for Habitat■ Developer Eyes Green Housing

15 T i p s h e e tBook Based on Bau-BiologieOffers Remedies for Sickly Residences

17 P r o f i l eEnthusiastic About SaskatchewanDeveloper Sees SustainableNeighbourhoods as Key to Future Growth

19 P r a c t i c aTo Standardize or Personalize?New Home Design is a Matter ofCommitment and Time

21 S t a n d a r d sArchitect or Designer-Builder?Choose the Right Professional for the Job

THE DESIGNOF URBAN SPACE

29 Gimme ShelterNEW WAYS TO MAKE

HOUSING AFFORDABLE

37 Density byDesign

LIVING CLOSER TOGETHER

IS ALL ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY

40 The Wright StuffINSPIRED RENOVATION OF

SASKATCHEWAN CRESCENT HOME

Cover: Heggie residence renovation inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, Edwards and Edwards Architects.

Unless noted otherwise, all stories and photographs in Saskatoon Home are by Darrell Noakes

49 P r e v i e wEvolving EvergreenSustainable Village to Grow Naturally

53 T h e C i t yBuild It and They Will ComeRiver Landing Brings Events andCrowds to the Waterfront

57 T h e R o o mThe Home OfficeBe Comfortable, Not Cramped

61 B a c k w o r d sThe Good Neighbour GuideLiving in Harmony with Folks from theOther Side

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Issue 3, Fall 2008ISSN [email protected]

Publisher, Editor, DesignerRobert MacDonaldSenior Editor, WriterDona SturmanisContributing Editor, Writerand PhotographerDarrell NoakesContributors:Stephanie Symons, Patrick McCormick,David Purdon, Jarrod Thalheimer.

Saskatoon Homeis published by:Mondovi Publishing Inc.302 4th Avenue NorthSaskatoon SK S7K 2L7Telephone 306.665.9160Email [email protected] www.saskatoon-home.comPresident Susan ZwarychAdministration: Krystal Frerotte

Wheat King Publishing Ltd.200-160 Dougall Road SouthKelowna BC V1X 3J4President Jeff PexaAdminstrator Lara Winterbach

Produced in association withMedia Futures Institute

No part of this publication may becopied or reprinted without the writtenconsent of the publisher.

Publications Mail Agreement# 41216508

Current home architectureand design involve far morethan pleasing form and func-tion. Now we are taking intoaccount energy efficiency, sus-tainable building materials, leav-ing a minimal footprint on theenvironment, integration into anexisting community or in somecases, creating one. What is also

becoming more apparent thanever in Saskatoon is the need formore affordable homes. Alongwith handsome residenceswithin the reach of those withupper-end incomes or wealth,there is a need for housing bythose with lower to middle in-comes – the very people whowork in our much-needed serv-

Designing the Futureices, trades and professions orwho have special needs.

Can directional home designand construction address all ofthese factors? The answer is thatit is possible. Many of Saska-toon’s architects, designers,builders and developers arestarting to incorporate green,sustainable and affordable prin-ciples into their vision. Suppli-ers are carrying more environ-mentally friendly materials andproducts. The City itself placespriority on creating opportuni-ties for user-friendly housingwithin the means of many.

Knowledge is the key asSaskatoon progresses in itsgrowth, which includes an ex-panding population and in-creased demand on land andresources. It is up to govern-ment, building professionalsand home owners to educatethemselves on the needs of oursituation as we move into thenext decade.Dona SturmanisSenior Editor

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F r o n t l i n e sRiverGreen

DevelopmentDesign

on Target

RiverGreen Ecovillage has seena high demand for its proposeddevelopment at the corner ofAvenue C and 19th Street.

“We have had a very strongresponse,” says Rick Olmstead,the project’s board chair. “Thekey thing is that we’ve been ableto talk to the people who are in-terested in RiverGreen. By talk-ing to them, we’ve gathered a lotof information about what peo-ple are really looking for andthat has helped us to refine theproject and fine tune it.”

The developer’s integrateddesign process will continue togather information as the projectmoves into its final design stage,says Olmstead.

“That’s been the history ofthis project all along, with thisintegrated design process reach-ing out, trying to understand thecommunity you’re building in,the people you’re building for,”he says.

“I think this is really just inkeeping with everything thatwe’ve done from day one: con-tinuing to try to understand howthe people that want into theproject want to see it and trying

to build something that will cre-ate a sense of community at theend of the day.

“It’s a very different process.Typically, developers find someland, come up with a plan, puttogether some details and startbuilding it. Although maybewe’re doing something that’snot typically done here inSaskatoon, certainly it’s some-thing that’s been done in otherareas. Developers in larger cit-ies will go to a great deal of trou-ble to understand their custom-ers. Our process is a little moreintimate, perhaps, in terms oftrying to understand the com-munity here.”

Construction is scheduled tobegin next spring. The projectis expected to be open by sum-

mer or fall of 2010.Support for Rivergreen

Ecovillage at Saskatoon’s RiverLanding Phase II grew out ofRoad Map 2020, a movement tocreate a more sustainableSaskatoon. Road Map 2020 be-gan in 2004 as a partnership ofthe Meewasin Valley Authority,Saskatchewan EnvironmentalSociety and City of Saskatoon’sEnvironmental Advisory Com-mittee.

Green WeekProclaimed in

Saskatoon

Saskatoon City Council hasproclaimed October 27 to No-vember 2, 2008 as Green

Week. Green Week provides anopportunity for organizations orindividuals interested in “build-ing Saskatchewan green” tohold events and promote activi-ties that promote sustainablebuilding in Saskatchewan.

Green Week encompasses thefifth annual Building Saskatch-ewan Green conference andtrade show of the Canada GreenBuilding Council Saskatchewanchapter. The conference bringstogether participants fromacross the provincial buildingindustry spectrum. The confer-ence and Sustainable LivingExpo take place October 30 and31 at TCU Place.

Building SaskatchewanGreen was initiated by KellyWinder of the SaskatchewanResearch Council, Henry Lauwith Stantec Architecture andMurray Guy of Integrated De-signs.

As many as 1000 people areexpected to attend, including ar-chitects, engineers, interior de-signers, owners, developers andthe public. Exhibitors includegreen service providers, manu-facturers and educators.

Mike Holmes, host ofHGTV’s Holmes on Homesshow, is giving the keynote ad-dress. The closing plenary ses-sion is presented by Dr. MitchellJoachim, a partner at Terreform,

Mike Holmes, Canada’smost trusted contractor,host of HGTV’s Holmes onHomes, will give thekeynote address at the fifthannual BuildingSaskatchewan Greenconference.

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a non-profit organization thatpromotes ecological principlesin the urban environment. Con-ference sessions include sustain-able water treatment, wind en-ergy, green financing, LEED forcontractors and sustainablecommunities.

Saskatoonto PreserveNight Sky

Saskatoon City Council hasdecided to replace municipallighting with dark-skyfriendly fixtures. In August,council accepted a recommen-dation to develop a compre-hensive and integrated darksky lighting policy that willapply to all areas within thecurrent and future city limits.

The recommendation,which stems from a reportsubmitted to council by theSaskatoon Environmental Ad-visory Committee (SEAC),will see existing fixtures on allpublic property replaced withflat-lens, full-cut off style light-ing. The new lighting will goin as current fixtures wear outand need to be replaced.

Last year, council adopted apolicy to install flat-lens fix-tures in new neighbourhoods,with exceptions for streetlightson arterials and major thor-oughfares.

The recent decision meansthat the administration willdraft policies for city-ownedproperty, in addition to

streetlights, including buildinglighting.

The SEAC report recom-mends that the main criteriafor selecting lighting fixtures inSaskatoon should be “energyefficiency, dark sky compli-ance and the long-term main-tenance costs.”

Lights should have mini-mum impact on the environ-ment by eliminating glare, lighttrespass, light pollution andwasted energy, the report said.

Saskatoon city councillorGlen Penner, chair of the city’sfinance and administrationcommittee which oversees thework of the SEAC, says hefeels good about the decision.

“Absolutely, I think it’s theway we ought to go,” he says.

“It was a good decision,”says Sean Shaw, vice-chair ofSEAC.

“Any light that goes up iswasted,” he says. The citycouncil decision fits the city’sgreenhouse gas emission re-duction plans, he says.

“Also, it comes down toglare for drivers. It comesdown to the light shining intoyour houses and your busi-nesses at night.

“If you really want to go to acomprehensive dark skypolicy, you need to start look-ing into not just streetlights,you have to start looking intobuildings and not leavinglights on all night.”

Richard Huziak, a Saska-toon astronomer and memberof the Saskatchewan Light Pol-

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lution Abatement Committeeof the Royal Astronomical So-ciety of Canada, says that ifeverything in the report is im-plemented, “broadly speaking,all lighting done by the City ofSaskatoon, for all reasons, willbe dark sky compliant.”

That would include wallpacks (lighting on the sides ofbuildings), parking lot lightsand other types of lighting.There would still be some ex-ceptions, such as streetlights onarterials and other major thor-oughfares, he says. But the de-cision allows Saskatoon Lightand Power, as well as designersand others, to choose dark skycompliant lighting.

SaskatchewanBuilding Permits

Up in June

Saskatchewan had the highestincrease in residential permitsin Canada according to Statis-tics Canada’s seasonallyunadjusted numbers whencomparing June 2008 to June2007. Residential permits wereup by 61.3 per cent.

“This is a good indicator thatmore Saskatchewan people arebenefiting from our prosperoustimes,” enterprise and innovationminister Lyle Stewart said in anews release. “More families havethe financial means to further setdown roots in our province bybuilding new homes. To see this

stellar growth indicates that Sas-katchewan businesses and fami-lies are in a position to take advan-tage of the opportunities that arecontributing to the momentumdriving our economy.”

As well, Statistics Canada indi-cates Saskatchewan had the sec-ond largest percentage increase inbuilding permits in the nation ona seasonally adjusted basis in June2008.

Seasonally adjusted, Saskatch-ewan’s value of building permitstotalled $192 million in June2008, up five per cent when com-pared to May 2008 when figureshit $183 million. Newfoundlandrecorded the highest increase, up19.1 per cent.

The seasonally unadjustednumbers for June show that Sas-

katchewan had an increase of 7.4per cent to $212.1 million, upfrom $197.5 million in June 2007.That was the fourth highest in-crease in Canada, but well aheadof the national average which de-clined by 9.1 per cent over thatperiod.

Single-detachedHousing Starts

Fall in July

The Canada Mortgage andHousing Corporation reportedthat Saskatoon experienced adecline in July total housingstarts compared to that montha year earlier.

Year-to-date figures continue toexceed the housing starts num-bers recorded at this time in 2007

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and are the highest seen since1983.

Saskatoon single-detachedstarts fell 23 per cent in the monthof July. This is the second con-secutive month of decline on thesingles side in 2008. July multi-starts also fell off to 105 units,down from the 149 starts in July2007. Notwithstanding the weak-ness in monthly starts activity,year-to-date starts figures remainimpressive. So far this year,Saskatoon’s total housing startshave reached 1,789 units, thehighest seen in 25 years. Both sin-gle-detached and multi-startshave now recorded their highestlevels since the 80s. Robust startsactivity has resulted in more than1,300 housing units under con-struction in Saskatoon, the high-est level of home building activityseen since July 1985.

“Demand for new, single-de-tached housing has slowed inboth of Saskatchewan’s majorcentres,” said Paul Caton, seniormarket analyst for CMHC Sas-katchewan. “Price inflation on thenew home side and an abundanceof resale listings are two factorsplaying a role in the cooling ofdemand for new housing.”

Real EstateAssociation

Disputes MerrillLynch Report

The head of the Saskatoon Re-gion Association of Realtorsthinks that Merrill LynchCanada missed the mark on areport released in August that

described Saskatoon’s housingprices as overvalued by as muchas 50 per cent.

“Saskatchewan is experiencingthe hottest economy in Canada,”association executive officerHarry Janzen wrote followingnews reports of the Merrill Lynchstudy. “Evidence of this economicactivity is reflected in all areas notlimited to new home construc-tion.”

The average price of a residen-tial home in Saskatoon in July was$292,000, or $22,000 below thenational average of $314,000,Janzen pointed out. In addition,the Merrill Lynch study reporteda drop in residential construction,while a Statistics Canada studystated that Saskatchewan buildingpermits were being issued atrecord levels, he wrote.

The Merrill Lynch Canada re-port, titled “Peaked: Canada’shousing market in depth,” saidthat Canada’s housing market isentering a “sustained downturn”from a combination of oversupplyand overvalued home prices. Thereport forecasts that upward pres-sure on house prices will slow,while Western markets will be“most vulnerable to outright de-clines.”

Canada is not expected to ex-perience the kind of real estatebust that is currently being expe-rienced in other countries, nota-bly the United States. But somemarkets in Saskatchewan andBritish Columbia appear to beovervalued, the report said.

The Merrill Lynch calculationswere done by economists David

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Wolf and Carolyn Kwan, based oncurrent prices, affordability andlong-term average valuations. Thereport was released the same dayStatistics Canada reported thatresidential and corporate con-struction had dropped nation-ally.

Feds AnnounceAffordable

Housing Grantsfor Municipalities

The federal government has an-nounced grants of up to $5,000to increase housing affordabilityand choice under the renewal ofthe Affordabil-ity and Choice To-day (ACT) initiative. The hon-ourable Monte Solberg, ministerof human resources and social de-velopment and minister responsi-ble for Canada Mortgage andHousing Corporation (CMHC)announced the funding in May.

The two-year $650,000 initia-tive provides grants to local teamsof municipalities and housingstakeholders, who promote theimprovement of planning andbuilding regulations in their com-munities to lower the cost of hous-ing.

The initiative is funded byCMHC and administered anddelivered by the Federation ofCanadian Municipalities (FCM),with the participation of the Ca-nadian Home Builders’ Associa-tion (CHBA) and the CanadianHousing and Renewal Associa-tion (CHRA).

In addition to providing grants,

ACT experts promote best prac-tices and lessons learned from theprojects undertaken.

ACT was created in 1990 tofund and promote projects spear-headed by local teams of munici-palities, non-profit housinggroups and other housingstakeholders to overcome regula-tory barriers and make regulationsmore responsive to the housingneeds of communities acrossCanada.

The best practices and lessonslearned from regulatory reformprojects are promoted by ACTstaff at workshops, conferencesand other events and are madeavailable on the ACT website.

ACT projects have led to arange of actions, including:■ Changes in bylaws and regula-tions to improve housingaffordability and choice■ Streamlining of building permitapproval processes for greater ef-ficiency■ Enhancing working relation-ships between municipalities andhousing sector stake-holders■ Creating alternative develop-ment standards■ Removing regulatory barriers tothe creation of secondary suitesand rooming homes.

Local HomeSales Cooling

Saskatoon’s housing resalemarket on par with sales fig-ures from 2005 and 2006, ac-cording to a news release is-sued by the Saskatoon Region

Association of Realtors(SRAR). July sales of 348homes declined 18 per centfrom 422 the previous year, butthe 2008 figure is comparable tothe same month in 2005 and2006. Year-to-date sales of 2503were down 15 per cent from lastJuly but ahead of 2005 and2006, the real estate associationreported.

The average sales price in Julywas $292,428, 20 per cent higherthan the 2007 average of

$244,327. The 2007 average was57 per cent higher than a 2006average of $159,493. The nationalaverage selling price as reportedby Canadian Real Estate Associa-tion was $314,028, up 3.6% fromthe same time last year.

Total sales for July were$101,765,000, similar to July2007, SRAR reported. Year todate sales totalled $724,928,885, and 11 per cent increaseover 2007. The average residen-tial price is derived by taking the

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month’s dollar volume of homessold and dividing that numberby the unit sales number. Thepercentage of change should notbe used unilaterally as pricesvary from area to area.

There were 832 propertiesplaced on the market in July, 42per cent more than during July2007 when 585 homes werelisted for sale. The year to date5,142 homes have been placedon the market, a 46 per cent in-crease over the previous year.

Activity in areas surroundingSaskatoon was similar to the city,SRAR reported, with an averageselling price of $268,236, up 26per cent from the 2007 averageof $213,435. Year to date, 610residential properties have soldin areas in and around

Saskatoon, a decline of 12 percent from the previous year. Thetotal number of listings in-creased to 283, a 56 per cent risefrom 181 during 2007.

The Saskatoon and area mar-ket is fairly similar to other ar-eas in Canada, SRAR said. InEdmonton, the average sellingprice was $341,376.

“The market has returned toa more normal pace reducingthe buying frenzy of last year,”the SRAR news release said.“Strong confidence in the localand provincial economy contin-ues to fuel the market. Labourshortages substantiate the de-mand for workers in all sectorsnot limited to nursing and con-struction. Our resource sectorcontinues to lure workers and

many businesses would like toexpand all requiring employeesall of which have housing re-quirements. The associationanticipates similar market activ-ity during the third quarter ofthis year.”

Boom CausesScarcity for

Habitat

Saskatoon’s real estate andconstruction boom is puttingpressure on Habitat for Hu-manity funds and volunteers.

Rising land and materialsprices and a tight labour marketare increasing the non-profit or-ganization’s costs.

Materials costs are risingabout 10 per cent a year, says IanMacLennan, executive directorof Habitat for HumanitySaskatoon. Land costs havedoubled, he says. With volun-teers in short supply because ofthe pace of the industry, Habi-tat has been forced to pay fortrades such as plumbing andelectrical.

HousingAffordabilityTask Force

Report

In June, a provincial task forceon housing affordability es-tablished in March presentedits recommendations for im-proving affordability of hous-ing in Saskatchewan.

The report, titled AffordableHousing: An Investment, pre-pared by Ted Merriman andBob Pringle, is the result of con-sultations with residents of 16Saskatchewan communities. Intotal, the task force consultedwith 85 individuals, groups andorganizations and received 53written submissions.

The authors presented 36 im-mediate, short term, mediumterm and long term recommen-dations, including:■ encouraging municipalities toequalize tax rates betweenmulti-unit residential buildingsand single-family dwellings andstreamline bylaws for the crea-tion of secondary suites■ increasing the income thresh-old for seniors to qualify for so-cial housing■ reducing income taxes for lowto moderate income earners orexpanding the SaskatchewanRental Housing Supplement, sothat seniors and low to moder-ate income earners are betterable to afford rental housing■ introducing provincial tax in-centives to stimulate the supplyof affordable housing■ introducing government pro-grams to accelerate private con-struction of rental and afford-able housing■ dedicating surplus land andbuildings for affordable housing■ amending legislation govern-ing rent and lease increases■ enhancing partnerships withcommunity based, First Nationsand Metis organizations■ engaging the federal govern-

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ment to restructure tax lawsconcerning rental income andcapital cost allowances■ incorporating energy efficientbuilding practices into afford-able housing■ developing a new affordablehousing agreement federal gov-ernment with additional federalfunding for affordable housing■ revising provincial legislationto enable municipalities to in-corporate inclusionary zoning■ lowering the education por-tion of property taxes■ reviewing skilled labour, train-ing and immigration require-ments to ensure there are suffi-cient tradespersons to constructnew housing in the province■ providing resources for mu-nicipalities for better affordablehousing planning■ exploring methods and taxincentives for generating privatecapital pools for affordablehousing

GovernmentResponse

The Province is acting quicklyto implement immediate-prior-ity recommendations made bythe Task Force on HousingAffordability to help those mostaffected by escalating housingcosts in Saskatchewan, socialservices minister DonnaHarpauer said in a news release.

“We are addressing this issueby implementing some immedi-ate relief while we develop fur-ther medium and long-term re-sponses to the housing chal-lenges in the province,” the cabi-

net minister said.Effective August 1, 2008,

shelter rates for low-incomerenters increased in the Sas-katchewan Assistance Program(SAP), Transitional Employ-ment Allowance (TEA) andSaskatchewan Rental HousingSupplement (SRHS). In total,the enhancements will immedi-ately benefit approximately6,500 households at an annualcost of $11.3 million.

A Saskatoon family with oneor two children receiving ben-efits under SAP, TEA and theSHRS will see an increase of upto $189 per month (from $604to $793). A single person with adisability will see a monthly in-crease of up to $126 (from $528to $654).

The Provincial Training Al-lowance (PTA) is being in-creased by $1.4 million, to helpabout 5,000 students. Changesto the student loan program willbenefit an additional 10,000students, advanced education,employment and labour minis-ter Rob Norris said.

New changes to addresshousing affordability include:■ increasing shelter rates for cli-ents on SAP and TEA■ expanding the Saskatoon andRegina boundaries to includethe Statistics Canada metropoli-tan areas■ increasing the PTA living al-lowance and the shelteramounts in the Canada Sas-katchewan integrated studentloan program■ Increasing the SRHS between

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$36 and $136 per month, de-pending on location and familysize■ introducing automatic rate ad-justments for these provincial pro-grams■ increasing income thresholdsfor seniors who rely on socialhousing programs■ increasing per diem rates paidto community based organiza-tions operating emergency shel-ters■ introducing changes to the Sas-katchewan Housing CorporationAct to expand the board govern-ance.

The government pledged toimplement more innovative solu-tions in the weeks and monthsahead, Harpauer said.

Developer EyesAffordable Green

Housing

Calgary developer StonesetEquities has sent a formal pro-posal to Saskatchewan Hous-ing Corporation to construct a$66-million, 28-storey high-rise that would include 120units for people with long-term disabilities or low in-comes and 20 shelter beds.The building, to be constructedin the Saskatoon Police Serviceparking lot north of the policestation, would also have 130rental and condominium unitsplus commercial space.

Provincial government andcity officials announced plans

last October for the assisted liv-ing units, to be managed byLighthouse Supported LivingInc. That portion of the projectis expected to cost $14.58 mil-lion, with the housing corpora-tion contributing $11.5-millionand the city $1.46 million.

Lighthouse currently oper-ates 64 units out of the formerCapri Hotel at 20th Street andSecond Avenue.

The provincial housing au-thority has not made a decisionon developing the project, al-though city planning managerLorne Sully describes Stone-set’s as the leading proposal atthe moment.

Before any project can goahead, the city first needs to as-sess the site for environmentalconcerns. In the past, the sitehas held a gun range and an au-tomotive shop. Stoneset wouldneed city approval for a 28-sto-rey building. Once approved,construction is planned to beginin January and is estimated totake 18 to 24 months to com-plete.

Currently, downtown build-ings are restricted to a height of76 metres, or roughly 25 sto-reys. Height restrictions are inplace mainly to accommodateaircraft flight paths, but the pro-posed Stoneset tower is outsidethe flight path.

The Stoneset developmentwould consist of a combinationof shelter beds, assisted livingunits, market rental suites andcondominium suites starting ataround $300,000. The project

would consist of three buildingssurrounding a courtyard. Thedesign includes 270 parkingstalls in four underground lev-els, of which 100 would be usedfor police parking. The mainfloor would include commercialspace. Two levels of office spacewould face 23rd Street.

The development is expectedto be one of the most environ-mentally-friendly in the city.Stoneset Equities CEO TonyArgento said he wants theproject to go beyond LEED cer-tification. The building wouldinclude rooftop gardens, recy-cled water, large atriums andpower cogeneration, dependingon final cost estimates.

Rooftop gardens would cap-ture rainwater, as well as aid incooling the building in summer.Grey water, the water left overafter washing, would be treatedand re-used for flushing toiletsand irrigating gardens.

The project would use natu-ral gas or biodiesel to generateits own electricity, recoveringwaste heat for use within thebuilding, requiring the provin-cial electrical grid only as abackup.

Window placement andatrium design will further re-duce the need for electricity.The project aims to use only halfthe power normally consumedby a building of that size.

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T I P S H E E TBook Based onBau-Biologie

Offers Remedies forSickly Residences

Prescriptions for a Healthy

House: A Practical Guide for

Architects, Builders & Home-

owners

3rd Revised Edition

Paula Baker-Laporte, Erica Elliott

and John Banta

New Society Publishers, 2008

ISBN 978-0-86571-604-9

328 pp., $28.95

North Americans spend 90per cent or more of their lifeinside a building. Indoor airpollution has been identified bythe U.S. Environmental Protec-tion Agency as one of the topfour environmental health risks.

Amidst the sweeping concernabout the impacts buildingshave on the environment, atten-tion is finally being paid to theeffects that building materialsand construction methods haveon human health. Both are as-pects of Bau-Biologie or Build-ing Biology, both trademarkedconcepts in the U.S.

Bau-Biologie is not new. Fortyyears ago, concerned profes-sionals from a variety of disci-plines in Germany noticed howhealth in the general populationdeclined following the post-

WW 2 building boom. Re-search was conducted by a vari-ety of specialists, some peersjoined forces and a course onBio-Biologie was taught at a Ba-varian vocational school. Even-tually the program became theInstitut fur Baubiologie undOkologie Neubeuern (IBN)which succeeded through edu-cation and publications to gaina reputation through NorthernEurope.

Helmut Ziehe, an interna-tional city engineer, translatedthe educational material of Bau-Biologie into English in the mid-80s and founded The Interna-tional Institute for Bau-Biologie& Ecology (IBE).

Even by the late 80s, few peo-ple were paying attention to theeffect of the built environmenton human health. But throughthe efforts of the Institute, Zieheand a few others, the Bau-Biologie movement spread in-ternationally to where it has be-

come a critical sustainablebuilding issue.

Prescriptions for a HealthyHouse: A Practical Guide forArchitects, Builders & Home-owners was inspired by Bau-Biologie. In its third edition, thisindispensable book outlines therisks presented by standardbuilding materials and methodsfrom indoor air pollution to tox-icity. Guidelines are presentedon what to do differently, andhow to obtain alternative mate-rials and expertise to build ahealthy home.

The guide is comprehensiveand highly authoritative, as itsauthors are a green architect, anindoor environmental consult-ant and an environmental medi-cal doctor. Included are 15 es-says by leading building biolo-gists.

Many of the chemicals usedin building products have beenassociated with a variety of ill-nesses. Exposure to toxins inthe indoor environment havebeen linked to everything fromsinus infections and headachesto full-blown chemical sensitiv-

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ity and other immune systemdisorders.

Since this awareness hasspread, safer materials and bet-ter methods of design are nowbecoming available, buildingand rating and certification pro-grams have been created andgovernment environmentalguidelines have emerged to en-courage the building of healthierhomes. However, there is still alot of false or concise informa-tion on the subject so it is up tohomeowners to educate them-selves with books like Prescrip-tions for a Healthy House.

There are two approaches toaddressing the indoor pollutiondilemma, according to the au-thors. Firstly, as many pollutantsshould be eliminated as possi-ble and an airtight barrier cre-ated inside so there is less con-cern about the chemical compo-sition of structure and insula-tion. Secondly, the housesshould be constructed of natu-ral or non-toxic materials vapordiffusible or breathable.

Concerns about the cost ofbuilding a healthy home are alsoaddressed in Prescriptions forA Healthy House. How much

does it cost? “Between zero and25 percent more than standardconstruction,” say the authors,but there are many things thatcan be done to build and main-tain it that require little or nomoney, from additive-free con-crete to zero-VOC paints.Other methods that cost some-thing initially, but save money inthe long run, include less toxicroof systems and gas-firedhydronic radiant floor heating.

The authors divide indoor airpollutants into five different cat-egories and thoroughly explainwhat they are and where theycome from – volatile organiccompounds, combustion by-products, pesticides, electro-magnetic fields and naturally oc-curring pollutants such as radio-active contaminants, heavy met-als, biological pollutants such aspollen, house dust and mould.

The strategies for creating ahealthy home correspond in thebook with the format frequentlyused by residential contractors.Information is presented on de-signing for health; climate-basedconstruction detailing, reducingtoxic emissions through choiceof building materials; quality

control measures during con-struction and maintaining anongoing healthy home environ-ment through education.

Homeowners will learn aboutMaterial Safety Data Sheets,how to select the right home siteand alternatives to frame con-struction. They will become ori-ented about sustainably har-vested wood, environmentally-friendly countertop materialsand membrane roofing. Ad-dressed also are issues associ-

ated with doors and windows,flooring, carpeting and variousfinishes. Water treatment andplumbing, heating and cooling,electrical field management andenvironmental testing are alsocovered.

In other words, the book is avital and intelligent resource fornot only homeowners or thoseconsidering building a housebut also professionals in thehome construction business.■ dona sturmanis

Anthena Thompson, a certifiedBuilding Biology Practitioner,offers in the book some timelyprescriptions that can beimplemented immediately, whichare summarized here:Furniture: Old items can bereplaced with new ones made ofnatural materials and fabricswithout chemical treatments. Ifyou can’t afford this, vacuumyour furniture and put it out inthe fresh air and sunshine for awhile. Clean it with a dampmicrofibre cloth and wash it withgood old soap and water.Laundry: Use healthy productswith no fragrance. Hang itoutside for a fresh smell.Cleaning: Use non-toxic brands

or make your own (the book tellsyou how).Vacuuming: Use a model thatfilters out allergens. Traditionalvacuum cleaners omit and blow70 per cent of dust back into theair.Fragrance: Avoid all air freshen-ers made of chemicals or witharomas.Bedding: Replace with organicwool pillows, duvets, andblankets that are naturallyresistant to mites. Considerorganic pillowcases, sheets andduvet covers made of organiccotton.Read labels: Don’t bringproducts into the house bearingwarnings of danger or poison.

How to Maintain a Healthy Home

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p r o f i l eEnthusiastic

AboutSaskatchewanDeveloper sees

sustainableneighbourhoods as

key to future growth

Design is important to NatashaKuperman, but when the de-veloper talks about sustain-ability and growth, the discus-sion quickly turns to tradi-tional concepts of community.

“I look at sustainability froma design perspective,” saysKuperman. “I believe that goodarchitectural design — goodlandscape and an eye to goodsite planning — really fosterssustainability.”

Good design leads to integra-tion, avoids excess and createsharmony, she explains.

“That’s the century-old ideaof sustainability, which Sas-katchewan has in its very blood,its very nature,” she says.

Kuperman doesn’t get caughtup in far-fetched, unprovengreen technology ideals. Herideas have to be workable, cre-ating places that people actuallywant to live in, and can afford.Sustainability doesn’t have to becomplicated.

“It exists already,” she says.“It’s just a matter of accentuat-ing it and having the conscious-

ness to pick up on every level ofsustainability.

“Murray Guy, the head of In-tegrated Designs, is a very goodexample of what I would call theideal of sustainability. Saskatch-ewan born and bred, he under-stands how to be sustainablewithin the context of a very highconsciousness population, andnot costing some extraordinarysum or being foreign to theplace, but just working with aneducated understanding of ex-isting materials.”

Kuperman developed her in-terest in sustainable designwhile studying architecture atCornell University. She entered

the US Department of Energy’sSolar Decathlon, where collegeand university teams compete todesign, build and operate themost attractive and energy-effi-cient solar-powered house.Kuperman’s Cornell team nar-rowly missed taking first placein the 2005 competition, edgedout by the University of Colo-rado. Armed with her bachelorof architecture degree, she nowworks as director of develop-ment and acquisitions at MacroProperties, a national real estateinvestment company based inToronto.

Kuperman is spearheadingMacro’s development in Lang-

ham, called Tilia Meadows, amixed commercial and residen-tial neighbourhood on 85 acreson the east side of the town. Thedevelopment is designed to pre-serve Saskatchewan’s smalltowncharacter while requiring allconstruction to meet green en-ergy goals. Tilia Meadows willbe a combination of low, me-dium and higher density hous-ing, and Main Street and high-way commercial lots. It’s de-signed as a walkable neighbour-hood. Light pollution standardsmake it dark sky friendly. Land-scaping plans support local foodproduction, community garden-ing and rainwater collection, aswell as an urban forest. Incen-tives are in place for builders toadopt Energy Star, BuiltGreenand LEED standards.

“Our goals are to grow thecommunity of Langham,” saysKuperman. “I think Langham’sa really unique community. Itretains the essence that peoplefrom all over Saskatchewan feelmost comfortable living in.

“I’m very interested in the im-pact of the individual home butonly if it is part of sustainablecommunity,” she adds.

“I want to build strong com-munities, communities whereevery single age group is repre-sented, communities which arespecifically made for a Saskatch-

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ewan identity. My aspiration isto come back to something I’vedeveloped decades before andseeing how alive and dynamicand useful it’s become.

“Saskatchewan historicallyhas been a place of opportunity,”she says. “Saskatchewan has somuch room to grow. I like to bein a place where there’s room togrow.”

Kuperman sees a bright fu-ture for Saskatoon. She’s seentremendous growth sinceMacro Properties invested inSaskatoon a decade ago, butthinks what we’ve seen so far isonly the tip of the iceberg.

“I see huge, dynamic poten-tial. It’s also a place that has ahistory which is more sustain-able in the towns and a certain

consciousness about high den-sity downtown.”

“I believe in urban areas,” sheadds. “I believe the best lessonsof how things should work arelearned organically in an urbanarea. Saskatoon is definitely anurban area that already has vi-brancy. I love the work that KarlMiller of Meridian Develop-ment is doing, building onwhat’s already here, building onprinciples. He knows inherently,because he’s from here. And I’mgoing to learn from that. I’m go-ing to learn from the people whoare from here and building theplace up and then see if I cancontribute through partner-ships or through my own initia-tives.

“Having been to cities all over

the world, I can see that this isjust the beginning. There’s somuch room to grow, in terms ofseeing residential downtown, interms of seeing more officebuildings, more retail, morecommunity involvement, more

spaces for a community to learnand to mix with one another. It’spretty exciting.

“A home is nothing withoutthe community that surroundsit. That, I hope is my big contri-bution.”

Developer Puts Sustainable Ideals IntoPractice at Tilia Meadows

When Macro Properties’Natasha Kuperman set out tocreate a new neighbourhoodin Langham, 20 minutesnorthwest of Saskatoon, sheknew it had to become a sus-tainable community.

“We have long and extensiveconstruction guidelines,” shesays.

Home builders must meetminimum standards for energy ef-ficiency, site planning, waste man-agement and landscape design.

In short, according to the de-veloper’s website, Tilia Mead-ows will feel like the kind ofneighbourhood people used togrow up in: “It’s developedaround landscapes for kids toplay in, pathways where youmight pass a neighbour on anevening stroll, and a school and/or community centre.”

The site plan includes passivesolar orientation, shared publicspace, wide tree-lined boul-evards and design mandates forenergy efficiency.

Efficient Design:

■ Rebates for Energy Efficiency:Energy Star, BuiltGreen orLEED

■ Minimum R-value standards,set out in the design and con-struction agreement

Construction and Design:

■ Architectural controls to de-velop and protect a sense of in-tegrity within the development,maintain property values andneighbourhood aesthetics, andgather people with shared sus-tainable values into a new com-munity

Storm Water

Management:

■ Continuous linear parks helpmanage storm water surfacedrainage■ Absorbent landscapes forparks and lot landscaping■ Infiltration swale system■ Rain garden■ Pervious paving

Community Planning

Practices:

■ School proximity■ Walkable streets■ Street network■ Community outreach

Source:www.tiliameadows.ca

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P R A C T I C ATo Standardizeor Personalize?New Home Design

is a Matter ofCommitment and

Time

Will your dream home be acustom or standard designplan? A custom home builderworks with the buyer to custom-ize the design from the blueprintstage. A standard design or“spec home” is a completedhome the buyer purchases as is.Jim Schultz of Selkirk Develop-ments Inc. offers plans that startas standard designs and includea variety of customer changes.

“We build spec homes thatare usually part way completed,”he says. “If the cabinets, wallcolours or flooring have yet tobe ordered, then customers canhave a choice in these aspects.”

Standard house designs aregeared to the preferences of theaverage home buyer. Severalhome and architectural stylesare available and tend to includethe more common features suchas room dimensions, squarefootage, and layout. Floor orcabinet layout may be personal-ized, though the extent of alter-nations is limited to non struc-tural features.

“Even with a standard homedesign there are modifications,”

he says. “Every house is a littledifferent, from varying sized lotsto floor plans. Not one is identi-cal.”

The distinct difference of acustom plan is the involvementof the buyer in the design of thehouse. David Dyck, president ofRocy Homes Ltd. says the de-sign team works with the cus-tomer to design a house that fitstheir lifestyle.

“Everything is specific to thatclient’s needs,” says Dyck. “Theclient makes the decision onevery detail of the house.”

Custom planning is not foreveryone, particularly if thebuyer does not have the time todevote to the process. Dyck saysa lot of time is needed for meet-ing with design team membersand gaining the knowledge tomake the decisions. Creatingyour own personal oasis cansometimes be grueling when

you are making decisions onpreferences from electrical plug-in locations to custom fireplacesand mantles, cabinetry, andstairs. Ensuring your schedulecan allow for this prolongedcommitment will help make theexperience more enjoyable.

Ron Olson, general managerof Boychuk Homes, says customplan buyers are usually peoplewho tend to be more demand-ing and know what they want,have the resources to choose thecustom option and tend to besecond, third or fourth homeowners.

In most cases, it’s a matter ofchoice. However, taking the cus-tom planning option sometimesmay be a necessity, such as forspecific environmental featuresor when addressing renovationsto suit future change in lifestyle.

“If energy saving is a must,then the specs can reflect water

saving features such as hot wa-ter on demand,” says Olson. “Ibelieve custom builders are onthe leading edge of home build-ing because customers are de-manding such features.”

In terms of price, Olson saysgenerally custom plans tend tobe 5 to 10 per cent higher inprice than standard plans andwhere it starts to get costly is inthe features selected.

Dyck offers the analogy ofbuying a car. The vehicle startsat a basic price but the price in-creases with each option added.The custom plan gives the buyerflexibility of design, completecontrol on features, and a firmprice.

Working together with thehome builder on the stylisticand functional details in design-ing your living space brings sat-isfaction to the project becauseit reflects your personal taste inevery aspect of the home.

No matter which planningoption you take, Schultz notesthat he has experienced ex-tended delivery times from sixto 12 months for a standardhouse plan in Saskatoon. Withthe non-standard features in acustom design and a deficit ofskilled workers in many subtrades, it is advisable to plan dili-gently.

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s t a n d a r d sArchitect or

Designer-Builder?Choose the Right

Professional for theJob

Hiring the right professionalfor a new home or a renovationproject is critical to its success.Yet, choosing between an archi-tect and a designer-builder canbe challenging. Much dependson the scope of the work; whocan best help you accomplishyour vision and goals?

Architects UndergoRigorous Education

and ExaminationIn Canada, the term architect isreserved for those licensed pro-fessionals who are registeredwith a provincially-based asso-ciation. According to the Sas-katchewan Association of Ar-chitects, there are three prereq-uisites: education, experience,and examination. Education isusually obtained by completingan undergraduate or graduateprogram in architecture. Expe-rience is gained through theprovincial Intern Architect Pro-gram. Successful completion ofexaminations is the final re-quirement for registration as anarchitect.

Licensing and registration isobtained through the provincial

architectural association. Archi-tects are legally responsible fortheir work. Licensing and ac-creditation assures the publicthat those individuals callingthemselves architects are quali-fied to practice architecture.

Provincial uniform buildingand accessibility standards, inaddition to the national build-ing code, require an architectto complete the design anddesign review of the buildingand building systems forbuildings other than privateresidences.

Matt Johnston of Architect-urally Distinct Solutions, an ar-chitectural firm and licensedbuilder, specializes in residentialdevelopment. He explains thatprovincial building code stipu-lates architectural expertise onlarge industrial and commercialbuildings. He works with clientswho demand the same profes-sionalism in their residentialprojects. Johnston has built asolid reputation for technicaland practical proficiency — hisfirm handles all aspects fromdesign and building to delivery.He argues that more compli-cated designs demand specialtraining.

“Architects are taught theprinciples of materials, design,and budgets, ensuring thatprojects are built to design.”

Expert Designer-Builders Have

Practical Training andExperience

Yet, judging by the number oflocal builder listings, a reservedtitle like architect is not a pre-requisite for designing anddocumenting homes. It can besaid that successful designer-builders remain long in the busi-ness through performance.

While architects may arguethat builders lack the formaldesignation of a registered archi-tect, it is reasonable to assumethat designer-builders possesssimilar qualifications gainedthrough practical training andexperiential skill. In many cases,the only real difference is be-tween those who have taken theprovincial examinations andthose who have not. In Sas-katchewan, there is no require-ment for designer-builders to beregistered and there are gener-ally no limitations to the scopeof residential work that they canperform.

British Columbia designer-builder Anthony Yskes saysmost of his business comesthrough word-of-mouth refer-rals. Building can be stressful;his clients value trust and appre-ciate his hands-on approach.Like an onsite project manager,he provides a single point of

contact between clients andservices over the duration. Hehas seen many demandingprojects over his career. Typicalof many builders, Yskes’ abilitycomes from experience, train-ing, and natural talent. Hisresume suggests that no reason-able project exists beyond hisreach.

Saskatchewan designer-builder Allan Ens of Homes byEns started in the business in1980, starting in residential con-struction.

“I started designing some ofmy own plans and I really en-joyed doing that,” he says. “Itwas an opportunity to value-adda product to our new business.It’s taken off from there.”

Ens finds that most peoplelike to start by looking at previ-ous designs, to get an idea ofwhat they might be looking for.For example, the process helpsthem decide if they want a bun-galow, bi-level or two-storyhouse, then gets them thinkingabout the kind of budget theyneed.

From there, he designs thehouse to fit the client’s tastes.

“Everybody wants to makeeverything uniquely their own,”he says.

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Making theProfessional Choice

Clearly, the consensus is that within the resi-dential construction sector, architects and de-signer- builders are two variations of the sametheme. In terms of work, both design anddocument architecturally-forward homes.Both oversee construction, manage budgets,and act on behalf of their clients.

However, there is no consensus regardingfees – there is no single formula. BothJohnston and Yskes agree that fees are a fac-tor of scale. Yskes charges a percentage of theoverall construction cost.

Johnston clarifies the misperception thatarchitects automatically charge more for thesame work. He differentiates between largecommercial projects and residential building.

“By law, large projects require an architect’sexpertise; rates are set through standard tar-iffs to cover a minimum of architectural serv-ices.”

Regarding single family homes, he says,“architects are very competitive.”

But whether an architect or a designer-builder is brought into the project, certaintasks need professional expertise.

“Part nine of the national building code,which covers residential housing, is prettystraightforward on what you can and cannotdo,” says Ens. “As long as you follow that, andof course you have to understand how a houseis going to get built in the first place andwhat’s going to work when you’re designingsomething and what’s not going to work, youjust follow those codes and you’re fine.”

For example, the building code specifieswhen an engineer or other professional mustbe brought in.

How do you decide between an architectand a designer builder when it comes to de-signing your home? It is entirely subjective;it depends upon your instinct. Fortunately,Saskatoon is blessed with many accom-plished architects and designer builders, eachwith their own signature style.■ david purdon & darrell noakes

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SASKATOON HOME FALL 2008 25SASKATOON HOME FALL 2008

TheQuestfor

AffordableHousing

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W A decade ago in Saskatoon, hous-

ing prices may not exactly have beencheap, but they were certainly afford-able. Back then, most people wouldhave had no trouble finding a placeto live that took between 10 and 20per cent of their income – whateconomists refer to as the housingaffordability measure.

Now, the average house in thecity exceeds the average family’sability to comfortably pay for it.The affordability measure passed30 per cent within the past year.Although rates in Saskatoon hov-ering around 40 per cent pale incomparison to places like Vancou-ver, where a standard bungalow ortwo-storey could snatch awaynearly 80 per cent of your house-

hold income, it’s still more thanwe’ve become accustomed to.

For well over half of families inSaskatoon, affordability is no laugh-ing matter. The median householdincome in the city, $49,313 as of the2006 census, is barely half of what’sneeded to qualify for an averagehouse now priced at $292,000. Eventhose not in the market to buy needto live somewhere, and we’vewatched as rental rates in the cityhave marched upward in lockstepwith property values. Half the fami-lies in the city could be consideredas potential candidates for affordableor social housing assistance if theywere suddenly to find themselves inneed of housing, because they earnless than $52,000 annually. By some

E USED TO JOKE THAT

YOU COULD BUY A HOUSE IN SASKATCHEWAN WITH YOUR CREDIT

CARD. IN SOME SMALL TOWNS, THAT WAS ALMOST LITERALLY THE

CASE – IF NOT YOUR CREDIT CARD, THEN MAYBE A RED PAPER CLIP.

Dreaming of a Sustainable Future

Dramatic changes are taking place in theSaskatoon home building environment

SkHomeFall08.p65 9/24/08, 1:26 AM26


estimates, there is an immediate needfor up to 5600 new, affordable hous-ing units in the city. With nearly85,000 households in Saskatoon,clearly most of us are adequatelyhoused already, but for studentsmoving to the city, those just startingout in their career, anyone looking fora place to live for a myriad of otherreasons, affordability must be one ofthose top-of-mind concerns.

There are about a dozen private andnon-profit agencies in Saskatoon thatwork toward providing affordablehousing. We’re unique in that ourmunicipal government can play ameaningful role, as well. Besides ad-dressing affordable housing issues,these groups are also working on pro-viding entry level housing for first timehomebuyers who have respectable in-comes but for whom the cost of hous-ing would still pose a struggle.

In response, we’re seeing somenovel and refreshing changes in theway our city grows. Suburban sprawlis giving way to more compact de-signs. New neighbourhoods are con-taining a greater proportion of multi-unit dwellings, such as stackedtownhouses and street townhouses,in addition to detached homes.

Among the most innovative hous-ing designs on the horizon is thegrowing interest in modular con-struction, where complete housescan be built in climate-controlled fac-tory conditions and assembled onsite at considerable savings in costand time over conventional buildingtechniques. Portions of neighbour-hoods are being dedicated to differ-ent segments of the housing market,

not just affordable and entry level,but residential care homes as well.Obviously, these changes are notdriven exclusively by affordability,but as housing prices rise, it’s natu-ral to see neighbourhoods developmore compactly.

A lot of the changes reflect a de-sire for the city to become more sus-tainable. Our newest neighbour-hoods are designed with higher den-sities and include a broad mix ofservices in village squares or districtvillages. There’s more green space.Environmental considerations aregiven more weight.

It’s on the “green” front that we’reseeing a tremendous amount ofchange in the city. Commercial de-velopers are falling over themselvesto build LEED-certified develop-ments. A LEED for neighbourhooddesign is in the works. Neighbour-hood densities are increasing, return-ing to traditional levels. Habitat forHumanity’s Re-Store has never beenbusier, as home owners and renova-tors find ways to re-use and recyclebuilding materials, fixtures and ap-pliances.

Last but not least, the Green Build-ing Council is holding the Build Sas-katchewan Green sustainable build-ing conference in Saskatoon. In justfive years, this meeting of industryinsiders has exploded into a publicevent, with HGTV’s Mike Holmesdelivering the keynote address. Ex-citement building over the confer-ence has led to the creation of GreenWeek 2008, running the last week inOctober throughout Saskatchewan.■ darrell noakes

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Gimme

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Saskatoon Learns New Ways toMake Housing Affordable

e ShelterIn Saskatoon’s sizzling economy, housingaffordability takes on a whole new mean-ing. People who never worried about thecost of a roof over their heads before havebegun to realize that affordability isn’t just aproblem for the poor or the disadvantaged.

A Royal Bank of Canada report on hous-ing affordability published in March notes:“Saskatchewan is the new Alberta — hold-ing the top spot nationwide on growth acrossall key housing indicators including hous-ing starts, house prices, residential buildingpermits and resale activity.”

The “housing affordability measure” isthe proportion of median pre-tax household

income required to service the cost of a mort-gage, including principal and interest, prop-erty taxes and utilities. A housingaffordability measure of 30 per cent is thegenerally accepted threshold for a family’sability to afford housing, whether that’s inrent or mortgage payments, including utili-ties and other costs. Once you’re spendingmore than 30 per cent on a place to live, youfind that you’ve got less for food, clothing,transportation, education and other neces-sities. Discretionary spending is the firstthing to go. The Royal Bank report pre-dicted that even if house prices and mort-gage rates were to dip during the summer,

Saskatonians could still expect to pay morethan 30 per cent of their incomes on hous-ing.

“If you’re spending more than 30 per cent,you’re living in housing that is beginning toput pressure on your life style and is con-suming more of your disposable income,”says Alan Wallace, manager of neighbour-hood planning for the City of Saskatoon.“You’re becoming ‘house poor’.”

When housing prices in Saskatoon weredepressed, as they were for about two dec-ades leading up to the economic boom we’reenjoying now, it wasn’t hard to find a placeto live that took up less than 30 per cent of

We are the only city of our size that is a landdeveloper. We’re 50 per cent of the residential

market. What that means is that we have adouble benefit in that we’re making money

towards affordable housing.

SkHomeFall08.p65 9/24/08, 1:26 AM29


your income. A decade ago, the housingaffordability measure had declined to wellbelow 20 per cent for single detached homesand was headed as low as nearly 10 per centfor townhouses and condominiums.

According to that Royal Bank report, theproportion of pre-tax household incomeneeded to service the costs of owning a homein Saskatchewan now exceeds theaffordability threshold. A standardtownhouse now takes up about 34 per centof an average income. A detached bungalow,the benchmark of Canadian style, consumes40 per cent. A standard two-storey home,42 per cent. The silver lining in this cloud isthat a standard condominium suite, althoughmore than double than in the past, still worksout to about 26 per cent.

“The price has risen much, much fasterthan incomes,” says Wallace. “In fact, lastyear it was an over 50 percent rise in thevalue of homes on average. It has been higherthan that with some newer homes and lowerthan that in some areas of the city, but onaverage it’s been a 50 per cent increase. Noone has had a 50 per cent increase in theirincome.

“The other thing is, that puts pressure onrent,” he adds. “If you’re renting, you’re notowning, you don’t have the luxury of sellingand moving. You basically must pay the rent.Rents started to rise and in some cases haverisen dramatically.”

In August, 2006, a gross annual incomeof $48,000 was needed to purchase an aver-age $160,000 house, with 25 per cent downpayment and 25-year mortgage. In August,2007, income of $70,800 was needed, as theprice of an average house had risen to$250,000. By July of this year, prospectivebuyers needed to be grossing $87,600 an-nually as house prices rose to an average of$292,000.

According to Saskatoon’s Housing Busi-ness Plan, the situation is especially acute for

lone-parent families, working families, FirstNations people, and single people. Othergroups identified as more likely to have dif-ficulty accessing suitable housing or to be atrisk of homelessness were people with spe-cial needs such as women fleeing violenceand those with mental illness or addictions.An emerging issue will be finding adequatehousing choice for students, recent immi-grants and visible minorities.

It would be hard to find anyone in the citywho isn’t aware of the pressure on rentalhousing. Vacancy rates plummeting belowhalf a percent earlier this year consumedmuch of our city council’s time. Sometimesentire council meetings were devoted to thecrisis.

Saskatoon Serves UpSome Sheltering

Solutions

“The supply is very, very tight,” saysWallace. “The city’s emphasis has been toincrease supply and we’ve done every-thing we can. Working with the province,we’ve increased our incentives, we’ve createda new rental incentive program. We’re try-ing to do everything we can to attract peo-ple to build new rental accommodation.We’re giving rebates for secondary suitecreation. We’re looking now at the possibil-ity of people being able to build garage suitesabove their garage and granny suites. Thosekind of things are all affordability measuresto increase the supply of housing, becauseas the supply goes up, then the prices startto moderate.”

The city’s business plan notes that hous-ing is a “non-traditional role for most mu-nicipalities.” Municipal governments such asSaskatoon do not build, own or managehousing. However, Saskatoon still has themeans to influence the supply of affordablehousing in the city. These include munici-

pal incentives such as rebates. Unlike manyother cities, we also have the ability to intro-duce “permanent affordable housing” forworking families, thanks to the City’s landbank and other investments.

The most immediate action the city cantake is to offer money to attract propertyowners to add secondary suites, such asbasement suites for students. The city can’tpay people before they build, but it can of-fer rebates of certain expenses such as per-mit fees once the secondary suite is created.

“The province is offering an incentive, andwe’ve tagged on with no permit fees,” saysWallace. “Basically, the province will con-tribute half the cost up to $24,000. The citywill rebate all of your permit fees back.

“The other incentive which we hope willattract some attention is the rental rebateincentive,” he adds. “If you’re building arental project anywhere in Saskatoon, we willgive a $5,000 grant (per suite), plus a fiveyear tax abatement.”

Garage suites, carriage houses and grannyflats are one means to increase the supply ofaffordable temporary or rental accommoda-tion. They have been a controversial subjectin the past. In fact, a previous city councilrejected a similar proposal to allow thesetypes of development during the 1980s, atime when governments throughout NorthAmerica were struggling to address an ear-lier crisis in housing, but a crisis that largelybypassed our prairie cities. Allowing second-ary suites outside of a principle dwelling nowwould require bylaw amendments and zon-ing changes. Critics worry that these suitesbring overcrowding, reduce privacy and di-minish property values. Experience in othercities has tended to disprove these concerns,especially when suites are constructed asresidences used for temporary accommoda-tion of relatives and students.

“Many people don’t want to have some-body living in the same dwelling – strangers

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or relatives, it doesn’t matter — but what theywould prefer to do is use that vacant spaceabove that big garage they’ve got,” saysWallace. “We’ve got a lot of 40-foot by 27-foot garages in Saskatoon. You can convertsome of that space into a garage suite, maybeas a second floor or something like that. It’sbeen done in other centres. They look quiteattractive, and they’re certainly somethingwe want to look at here as a potential lowcost housing option for relatives or singlesor students.”

The City of Edmonton, for example, re-cently began allowing these types of second-ary suites. To address citizens’ concernsabout privacy, the city introduced rules thatlimit the placement of windows and designstandards that limit sight lines and screenbuildings from view. In addition, the cityrequires these residences to be temporary,so that they could be removed after the ten-ant has left.

“Some of us are in sandwich generations,or sandwich families, where you’ve got kidsyou’re looking after but you also have to lookafter your parents,” says Wallace. “The bestway to do that is to have them close to youbut not maybe in the home. Maybe theydon’t want to live with you in the home, butstill want to have proximity to you.”

In the past, the alternative has been tomove seniors into apartments, supported liv-ing or institutionalized settings.

Density EncouragesAffordability

Another means to address affordability isto increase neighbourhood density. As thecost of land goes up, putting more dwellingunits on the space spreads the cost amongmore people, so that costs for individualsbecome more affordable. In the past, highdensities were the norm in urban areas.Saskatoon’s earliest neighbourhoods, such

as Nutana and Caswell Hill, reflected thestyle of cities everywhere, with densities ofabout eight units per acre. Over the years,we’ve seen densities decline to less than fiveunits per acre in some places, an unsustain-able trend that contributes to urban sprawl,high infrastructure costs and transportationpressures, as well as reduced affordability.The pendulum is now swinging back theother way, as urbanites seek higher densities,not only for reasons of affordability, but alsobecause of the social amenities that comefrom dense, vibrant neighbourhoods. Thosethat include a mix of multi-unit and single-unit dwellings have higher overall densities,while still providing space for householdsthat prefer more space.

“You’re going to see in all of our newneighbourhoods, starting with Willowgrove,Rosewood and Stonebridge, a larger densityoverall than our neighbourhoods have beenin the past,” says Wallace. “Briarwood is astark example. You go through there, there’salmost no multiples in that entire neighbour-hood. That has a neighbourhood density ofabout five units an acre.

“Our new neighbourhoods now are push-ing up to eight units per acre, which overallis quite a difference. You’ll notice that rightaway. People accept it if it blends into theentire neighbourhood environment.”

Modular Homes MeanMore Affordable Homes

While increasing density helps improveaffordability by addressing land and serv-icing costs, it doesn’t have as much effecton building construction costs. As our landvalues have increased during the economicboom, the proportion of the value attributedto the building has dropped to the pointwhere it’s now about a third of the total costof the property. Demand for housing andshortage of skilled labour are increasing the

amount of time it takes for new housing tocome on-stream and pushing the cost of con-struction upwards. Affordable housingneeds to deal with construction as much asit does with land.

Traditional construction methods, result-ing in townhouses, stacked townhouses andapartments can produce good, affordablemulti-unit housing by increasing the volumeof living space. Recently, a new form of hous-ing is beginning to spring from some non-traditional sources. Companies betterknown for supplying modular buildings forthe oil patch, mining sector and construc-tion industry are poised to make a signifi-cant contribution to the housing market, es-pecially affordable single-unit dwellings.Traditional home construction costs about$200 per square foot, while modular con-struction is able to bring costs down to about$140 per square foot.

“You really can’t build an affordable sin-gle family dwelling any more, unless it’smodular,” says Wallace. “These companieshad traditionally built trailers for the min-ing industry and the construction industry.They have plants now that will put outhouses. There’s three of them in Saskatoonthat I have visited, that look very impressive,but they’re only now getting into affordablehousing. They hold great promise for pro-viding affordable single unit dwellings.”

If the term modular conjures up imagesof mobile homes and trailer parks, thinkagain. Modular homes are complete houses,as swank and impressive as any show homeyou’ve ever toured. Besides lowering con-struction costs, modular homes have advan-tages that come from being pre-built in cli-mate-controlled factory conditions. Theconstruction environment results in fasterfabrication, allowing complete homes to bebuilt in a couple of weeks and installed on-site within the month. They are built to pre-cise and highly energy efficient specifica-

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tions, and often use less energy during con-struction than conventional building tech-niques. The modular components provideflexibility in design, so that even large homescan be shipped and assembled in any neigh-bourhood. A completed modular home isindistinguishable from any other home in theneighbourhood.

“We have a strong need for family accom-modation right now,” says Wallace. “Thiswould be single parent families, as well, thosewho are struggling to make ends meet witha single income. Our concern is, as well, withthe working poor. These are people whohave jobs, who previously could affordhomes, who can’t now.”

“These would be first time home buyers,”he adds. “We’d like to focus some of thehousing on entry level.”

Entry level housing, Wallace explains, ishousing made available for householdswhose incomes are too high to qualify foraffordable or social housing, but who areunable to meet criterial for market housing.

“That’s families earning between $52,000and, say, $75,000 a year,” says Wallace. “It’sdifficult for them to access housing in thoseprice ranges as well, especially when you’resupporting a family. We’d like to see moreentry level built. Entry level income is agrowing concern for the city.”

Partnership ProvidesProactive Solutions

Currently, there is a need for at least 3500affordable housing units in Saskatoon, ac-cording to municipal data. The health re-gion has estimated that up to 5600 newdwellings are needed. The city’s housingbusiness plan aims double the current rateof construction of affordable housing units.

“Council directed us to revise the afford-able housing business plan,” says Wallace.“What council is relying on us to do to is to

get 500 new units of affordable housing builtevery year. Our traditional amount of afford-able housing built each year has been around200 to 250 units. What they’d like to see isan environment where we’re building 500units a year.”

The city currently doesn’t build housingdirectly. It works closely with builders. Or-ganizations such as Habitat for Humanity,Cress Housing operated by the SaskatoonTribal Council, Quint Development Corpo-ration, Central Urban Metis Nation, CityCentre Community Renewal Initiatives,Saskatoon Downtown Youth Centre(EGADZ), Saskatoon Housing InitiativesPartnership and the Affordable New HomeDevelopment Foundation work directly toprovide affordable housing in Saskatoon.

“There are many, many affordable hous-ing providers in Saskatoon,” says Wallace.“We’re also trying to engage the for-profitsector. We’re working with the Saskatoonand Region Home Builders Association ona variety of affordable housing initiatives.

“The City of Saskatoon has not providedhousing, but there’s a model out there, It’sbased on a land trust. Affordable housingproviders know all about land trusts, but themodel the city is considering is a little dif-ferent twist. Our housing corporation wouldallow people a long term lease, even a lifelease, and let them build equity in their af-fordable home. They would have the abilityto take some of that equity with them intothe marketplace. It’s a bridge between rent-ing and owning. It’s like a land trust, in thatthe city would own the land and we wouldown the housing, would have the housingbuilt or would acquire it in some way. Thatwould be any form of housing, single ormultiple, and we would run it as a housingcorporation.

“It would be owned by the city, run by aboard, like the Mendel Art Gallery or theCredit Union Centre. It would be arms

length from city council. And it would haveits own administration.”

The proposal is currently on the drawingboard while a financial feasibility assessmentis conducted by an independent auditingfirm. If the proposal gets the go-ahead, itwould make Saskatoon unique in its abilityto address affordable housing issues, thankslargely to the way the city has managed itsland for the past 70 years.

“It’s permanent affordable housing,” ex-plains Wallace. “It’s housing that will neverbe released into the marketplace, because weown it. What sometimes happens with af-fordable housing is the governments willcontribute to the construction of affordablehousing, which initially starts out that way,but then once it becomes part of the market-place, it’s not affordable any longer.

“The one area where we’re most fortunate,is that we’re a land developer, whereas mostcities are not,” he adds. “Being a land devel-oper, we are experiencing large growth andlarge revenues from our developments inWillowgrove and Hampton Village, and wesell commercial land as well. A small percent-age of that, $2.5 million a year, is taken fromthat land activity and put into the affordablehousing reserve. So, there’s absolutely nodraw on the taxpayer, no draw on the millrate to do affordable housing in Saskatoon.That’s a really strong benefit for Saskatoon.”

“That’s unique to Saskatoon, in the coun-try. If anyone is bringing money into afford-able housing, they’re likely doing it fromtheir general revenues. We are the only cityof our size that is a land developer. We’re 50per cent of the residential market. What thatmeans is that we have a double benefit in thatwe’re making money towards affordablehousing. We also have a land base where wecan pre-designate land specifically for afford-able housing.”

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New First Home Ownership Program

■ introduce opportunities for individualsand families with low to moderate incomesto enter the housing market, including sin-gle and multiple-unit dwellings such astownhouses■ identify suitable locations in new City-owned neighbourhoods, including Willow-grove, Hampton Village and Blairmore Sub-urban Centre■ encourage the private developers to im-plement the program in all privately-ownedneighbourhoods

New Zoning District for Entry Level

and Affordable Housing

Developments

■ create a new zoning district designed spe-cifically for entry level and affordable hous-ing to be applied within new and existingneighbourhoods■ encourage “grow homes” (part of thehouse is left undeveloped, then completedby adding or moving interior partitions asthe family or household changes over time)and stacked townhouses

Development Bonuses

■ introduce a bonus provision in the zoningbylaw for inclusionary affordable housingdevelopments

Permanent Affordable Housing

■ create a new non-profit organization to ad-minister a land trust that secures dwellingunits (leased) protected from the influenceof the open market■ provide “entry level” housing targeted to-ward moderate income individuals and fami-lies■ fills the gap between social housing andmarket housing

Disposable City-owned Land

■ offer disposable City-owned land to afford-able housing providers through theSaskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership

Priority Review for Affordable

Housing

■ priority review of building, developmentand plumbing permit applications results inearlier review of affordable housing devel-opments, especially during times when ap-plication volumes are high

Review of Granny, Garage

& Carriage Suites

■ investigate the feasibility of permitting theconstruction of granny, garage, and carriagesuites, to allow secondary suites that providehousing for students and relatives

New Neighbourhood Design

Standards

■ encourage all developers of major residen-tial infill projects and new neighbourhoodsto adopt a more inclusive approach■ standards have been developed, togetherwith new infrastructure standards, to pro-vide more flexibility for developers and helpkeep costs of land servicing as low as possi-ble

Innovative Housing Incentives Policy

■ revised in 2007, this program increases theCity’s capital contribution from five percentto 10 percent of the total capital cost of af-fordable housing projects to a maximum of$2.5 million per year

Incentives for Secondary Suites

■ rebate permit fees for home owners whoadd secondary suites■ helps improve the market for student hous-ing

Five Year Tax Abatement for

Affordable Rental Housing

■ offers a five-year tax abatement for non-profit rental or co-op affordable housingprojects anywhere in the city

Support for Housing Business Plans

■ proposal to provide core funding for anaffordable housing resource within theSaskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership

Downtown Housing Incentives Policy

■ goal of 10,000 residents for the downtownwithin the next 20 years■ development incentives to encourage resi-dential development include property taxabatements on the incremental value of newconstruction, conversion projects or reno-vation of restricted residential projects■ incentives apply to market and below mar-ket housing

Municipal Enterprise Zone Policy

■ development incentives to property own-ers and prospective businesses within thegeographic boundaries of the Zone (West In-dustrial, Pleasant Hill, King George,Riversdale, Westmount, Caswell Hill, May-fair, and Kelsey-Woodlawn areas).■ incentives include rebate of building, de-velopment, plumbing permit fees, and mayalso include property tax abatements, grantsin lieu of tax abatement, rebates of off-sitedevelopment charges, rebate of environmen-tal screening charges, land assembly, rebateof development plan amendment fees in-cluding advertising, rebate of rezoning feesincluding advertising, rebate of discretion-ary use fees, and rebate of subdivision fees

Saskatoon’s Housing Business Plan: Highlights


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As of late, when we hear the terms sustain-able and sustainability, most times we’rereferring to environmental sustainability.These terms have pretty much become syn-onymous with reducing our carbon foot-print. However, sustainability has two othercritical facets we’d do well to recognize.

S.E.E.: A formula for aforeseeable future

This acronym summarizes the three compo-nents of sustainability: Social, Economic,and Environmental.

Let’s stay with the environmental discus-

sion for a moment. In addition to preserv-ing and protecting ecosystems and naturalhabitats, the two largest and most significantcomponents related to environmentalsustainability are buildings and transporta-tion.

The building initiative is straightforward.Let’s re-use buildings and recycle compo-nents of buildings that we demolish. Let’sbe smart about how much energy goes intoconstructing new buildings; let’s focus onmaterials and building systems that optimizerenewable energy sources in both the capi-tal and operating phases of a building’slifecycle. Well-executed site design can re-

duce storm run-off and reduce heat islandeffects. This, to my mind, is exciting stuff andbodes well for our future.

On the transportation side, it appears newtechnologies could reduce the reliance onfossil fuels. Hybrid cars and bio-fuels are al-ready on the market.

But it doesn’t matter how impressive newtechnologies are for personal transportation;we can’t afford to use land the way that wecurrently do.

Current land use patterns are highlightedby follies. We need to make more efficientuse of land. We must also look to more com-pact urban form, reducing the number of

Why living closer together might make usmore sustainable, healthier and happier

DensitybyDesign

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trips that individuals andhouseholds make in the courseof everyday living, There aresocial, economic, and environ-mental benefits of doing so.

Compact urban formis environmentally

sustainable.

By accommodating the samenumber of people on a smallerurban footprint, pressure forexpansion of municipal boundaries is re-duced. This in turn means natural and agri-cultural lands can continue to thrive. As well,we can then realize densities that not onlymake it possible for people to walk and bi-cycle to their destinations, we can make pub-lic transportation a viable option. With fewervehicles on the road, there would be feweremissions and effluents to foul our air andwater. Compact urban form is therefore en-vironmentally sustainability.

Compact urban form iseconomically sustainable.

Auto-dependent land hosts not only low-density residential development, but also bigbox retail and any form of commercial usethat devotes a large portion ofa site to surface parking, in-creases the cost of the infra-structure necessary to serve allland uses. By spreading housesand businesses farther apart,the cost of providing waterlines, storm and sanitary sewerpipes, electrical power, naturalgas, police and ambulanceservices, and roads — includ-ing winter sanding and streetcleaning and signage — all in-crease. These are not only the

initial or capital costs, but also the mainte-nance costs.

This land use pattern means that a con-siderable chunk of all municipal budgetsgoes to providing and maintaining infra-structure. I don’t want to give the impres-sion that new development doesn’t pay anyof the costs of infrastructure to service itselfbecause that isn’t true.

In fact, in Saskatoon, it pays all of it; nocosts of development are covered by the millrate. Other cities aren’t so lucky, where atleast a portion of the costs is paid by the tax-payer.

Developers also do not pay the costs ofother services, that come under pressure ascommunities grow, such as libraries, recrea-tional and cultural services.

Another way of looking atthis scenario is that low densityland use also means a loss of rev-enue to municipalities. Thelogic is as follows: land assess-ments within a municipalitygenerate tax revenue. By requir-ing more roads on which todrive, and more lots on whichto park, we create more landarea that isn’t taxable. Fully 50%of the land area in any munici-pality is set aside for movement

and parking of vehicles, just to give someidea of how much space is non-taxable.

Why not consider an alternative patternwhere less land area is used to service vehi-cle needs? The result would cost less to servethe same population. That is, compact ur-ban form is more efficient from a revenue andservice point of view.

The high price of low-densityland use.

Every dollar spent on servicing a low-den-sity lifestyle is a dollar that can’t be spent onsome other service that might be of greatervalue to the community. For example,healthcare. A dollar spent on another roadis a dollar that isn’t available to spend on a

library, a wetland reclamation,or more community policingservices. This is what econo-mists call “opportunity cost.”

At least part of the reasonwe’ve ended up in a low-densityspending situation is the marketsystem. Many of the costs oflow-density land use are hid-den. They’re not out-of-pocketcosts paid directly by the con-sumer; rather, some of the costsare buried in the taxes we pay.

Normally, consumers make

Buildings should be reused and when demolished, their components recycled.

New technologies could reduce the reliance of cars on fossil fuels.

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decisions about how much of agood or service to buy based onits price. They ask how muchit will cost and how much of itthey can afford. But economictheory assumes all costs are ac-counted for in the price of thegood or service. In the case oflow-density land use, all costsare not accounted for in thepurchase price, and the con-sumer doesn’t pay the full cost.

What happens when theprice is artificially low? The consumer con-sumes more of that good or service than ifthey were required to pay the full price. WhatI’m saying is that any municipal infrastruc-ture required to serve new low-density resi-dential development, or auto-oriented com-mercial development is being subsidized bytaxpayers.

These costs are not just those of subsidiz-ing infrastructure, but also the environmen-tal costs of, for example, loss of habitat ornatural features in a community, visual blight,poor air quality, increased stress and loss ofproductivity due to time spent driving, in-creased obesity and diabetes as a result ofsuburban-oriented lifestyles, and more..These costs are often unquantifiable andtherefore we tend to ignore or downplaytheir significance.

The market mechanism hasbeen fooling us. If we recog-nized the full price of low den-sity land use, we’d be behavingmuch differently, meaning we’dbe driving less and makingmore efficient use of land, bothas households and as a society.Part of the problem, then, is notjust that we use land ineffi-ciently, but in doing so, we’reunaware that the choice we’remaking is misinformed and that

we might be foregoing other choices thathave more value.

To the extent that higher-density urbanform makes more efficient use of dollarsspent on roads and utilities infrastructure,and minimizes a number of social and envi-ronmental costs, we can therefore say that itis economically sustainable. It means costsassociated with low-density land use don’tconsume a disproportionate share of taxdollars, thereby precluding the provision ofother services to the community.

High-density urban form isrelated to social sustainability.

Social sustainability is a bit more complexto understand. I don’t have a ready defini-

tion. You might have heard theterm “social capital” which I’mgoing to take as meaning thesame thing.

When does a communityhave social capital and whatdoes that mean?

An elementary explanation isthat social capital means peopleare connected through a myriadof networks. People know peo-ple. Through these networks,whether it’s your service club,

your children’s school, your church, or peo-ple you’ve come to know because you walkyour dog in your neighbourhood, these con-nections offer many positive benefits. Theseinclude finding a good price on a productbecause someone told you about it, findinga job because someone told you about it, avisit from someone when you were sick, asenior who gets to stay longer in her housebecause neighbours help take care of heryard — the list goes on. Social capital meanscommunity.

The benefits of social capital are that theycreate societies that are more tolerant andstable, with lower costs for many servicestypically delivered by government. Thesecosts include policing and health care. So-cial capital also means a sense of attachment

to a community and a caring forthe general welfare of its inhab-itants. It can also mean greatercreativity within a population,greater resilience and ability toadapt to change.

In theory, social capitalmeans greater psychologicalhealth for an urban population.It’s the ability to attain andmaintain this health for all citi-zens over the longer-term thatI call social sustainability.

Low density land use means a loss of revenue to municipalities.

Land devoted to box stores and parking increases costs of serving all land uses.

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Steps towardsfostering greatersocial capital and

social sustainability.

Interestingly, urban densifica-tion is consistent with this no-tion of social sustainability.Coming into contact with morepeople on a daily basis wouldseem to suggest an opportunityto create more social networks.

From an urban designer’sperspective, we need to look to creating op-portunities for people to interact. Certainly,zoning that allows significant densities isnecessary to create thriving urban centres.However, high quality public space is alsoimportant. We need to create spaces thatpromote interaction and familiarity and thatmake people feel physically and psychologi-cally comfortable. We can’t do this until weagree not to let cars dominate public streets.

Project for Public Spaces, a non-profit or-ganization based in New York, actively pro-motes livable urban environments. Check outthe website at www.pps.org. This group saysthat meaningful public space is the most im-portant ingredient in achieving a successfulcity. International Making Cities Livable(www.livablecities.org), a similarorganization devoted to creationof humane urban environments,highlights the importance ofpublic space, noting that a civiclife is essential to the well-beingof a community. It points to therole of public space in thesocialization of children andyoung people — the place wheresocial values are communicatedand there is inclusiveness and ahigh tolerance for varying valuesand lifestyles.

These spaces are modeled after traditionalEuropean cities where commerce, particu-larly food and drink, play a key role — wherethe focus isn’t on consumption, but onsocialization. North American malls are infact the antithesis of this model as is any auto-oriented lifestyle.

In a perfect world, less tax would be spenton funding roads, utility infrastructure andenvironmental clean-up and more would bespent on creating livable public space, thatis, on urban design. Higher quality exteriorfinishes, public art, landscaped boulevardsand street trees are just a few of the compo-nents of highly functioning public space thatcan be achieved by compact urban form.

Combined with higher residential densi-ties that result from compact urban form,

well-designed, decently-fundedpublic spaces become the life-blood of the community, puls-ing with activity, passion, crea-tivity, and a sense of self-worthin an often confusing world.

The holistic urbanenvironment is thekey to the future.

I maintain that there’s a biggerpicture than that of environmen-

tal sustainability and green design. And thatbig picture is called quality of life. I don’t meanto downplay the importance of environmen-tal initiatives in saying that. There’s an op-portunity to expand the notion ofsustainability beyond the purely environmen-tal to achieve more holistic urban environ-ments, environments that see the individualas more than a biological entity within a physi-cal ecosystem; environments that address thespiritual and psychological needs of their in-habitants; environments that nurture strongsocial bonding, attachment to community, andsense of place. In this vision, economic andsocial sustainability go hand in hand with en-vironmental sustainability.

■ patrick mcormick, a graduate of the Uni-versity of Saskatchewan, worksin municipal government. Hehas undergraduate degrees inbusiness and economics and aMaster’s degree in architecture.He considers urban design tobe a discipline where planningand architecture merge; wherethe prime focus should be onthe creation of a meaningfulpublic realm that promotes hu-man interaction, understand-ing, and cultural expression.

Zoning that allows significant densities is necessary to create thriving urban centres.

High quality public space promotes interaction and makes people feel comfortable.

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WRIGHTSTUFF

Frank Lloyd Wright Inspired RenovationsTransform Saskatchewan Crescent Residence

As Betty Ann and Wade Heggie guided usthrough their Saskatchewan Crescenthome, it soon became apparent that if anyhouse in Saskatoon had stories to tell, thiswould be one of them. Through extensiverenovation through the 90s, it’s morphedinto a handsome Prairie Style dwelling withreminiscent, updated touches of FrankLloyd Wright.

Most of the elements of the house reflectFrank Lloyd Wright’s style, but in differenteras, says Betty Ann. The columns were in-spired by his earlier works. Wallpapers arereproductions of his later collections.

“We didn’t want to recreate Frank LloydWright,” she says. “We wanted to bring FrankLloyd Wright into the next century.”

“We wanted something where peoplecould be in the dining room, flow to theliving room and flow to the outside. Welike to entertain. We’ve had dinners anddances on the front terrace. We’ve had alot of fun with it.

“This is a house that belongs toSaskatoon,” she adds with a laugh. “Every-body’s got an experience in it.”

It’s a tradition carried on. Many peopleassociated with the house have been well-

THE

The large, sunkenliving room opensonto the terracedpatio, facing theriverbank. The space isperfect for elegantentertaining, allowingguests to mingle fromterrace, to living room,to dining room andthrough the kitchen.

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known and well-respected, with strongroots in the city. Many of Saskatoon’s mostprominent citizens have socialized there.When the Heggies called architect BillEdwards to ask about renovating thehouse, he fondly remembered playingpool in the basement recreation room,now used as an office.

This home was built by A.A. Murphy in1952, an electrical engineer, who in 1911,was a partner in the firm which later becameUMA Engineering; he was also a broadcast-ing pioneer who founded CFQC radio in1923 and CFQC television in 1954.

The 2600 square foot ranch-style bunga-low, designed by a Vancouver architect, wasset well back on the lot, leaving a large, pres-tigious front lawn facing the river.

The house was later owned by Murphy’sson, Bill, and then by Urban Donlevy,founder of Mercury Printers, and his wife,Helen.

Wade and Betty Ann Heggie’s PrairieStyle home on Saskatchewan Crescentbegan as a 1950s ranch stylebungalow. The renovation received anArchitectural Masonry Award ofExcellence in 2000. Architect/Designer:Edwards and Edwards Architects.

Engineer: Sawchuk AntoniniEngineering Ltd. General Contractor:Hill Construction Ltd. MasonryContractor: Hagblom Brick and BlockLtd.

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In 1996, Betty Ann and Wade Heggiebought the bungalow and commissioned ar-chitect Bill Edwards to renovate the prop-erty. The dramatic re-vamp were completedin 1998.

“When we purchased the house we feltthat it was a long ways back on the lot, andwe wanted to capitalize on the view, so webuilt out closer to the river,” says Betty Ann.

The extensive renovation expanded thehouse to 3400 square feet, reflecting the Prai-rie School style of architecture made famousby Frank Lloyd Wright.

“We added a fair bit of space in front ofthe house,” says Edwards. The new designadded a sunken, front living room area, a newentry portico and a closed-in porch area infront of the redesigned master bedroom. In-terior partitions were cleared away to createa spacious, open atmosphere.

It was a bold move for the 1990s, creatingan open concept that flowed through the

kitchen, dining room and living room, theninto the outdoors. The architect created anaxis flowing between the front and the backdoors of the house, and a couple of cross axeson the house circulation.

“It’s very Prairie School,” says Edwards.“Betty Ann loved that style, and we werefairly articulate in understanding it and us-ing that language. That was not an uncom-mon occurrence in a Frank Lloyd Wrighthouse. The great room concept kind ofskipped a few generations. You see it com-ing back now.”

“It had some classical style to it in thestonework,” he adds. “It didn’t have all thedetailing, stylization and planning that aFrank Lloyd Wright house has; the way wearticulated the roof, the large overhangs, thebroad eaves and the modulation of the win-dows and the upper clear storey glass andthe various heights of windows. Plus, just theway you approach the house, instead of

The kitchen was expanded to fill theoriginal dining room. The open designallows natural morning light to floodthe space. The elevated glass countertop serves as an eating area or buffetline.

Morning sunlight floods the kitchenwith warmth. The work area features acurved table that can serve as a deskor rolled into the dining room. Thebench beneath it can also be moved.

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walking straight up to it, you notice you turnthree or four times before you get to the frontdoor.”

The Heggies also wanted the renovationto reflect their travels and interest in fengshui. It’s a marvellous blend of Asian andMidwest, creating a tasteful and elegant in-terior that uniquely captures the personali-ties of the owners while preserving thewarmth and historical character of the home,and true to the organic nature of Frank LloydWright’s designs.

The interior features long views, balancedby curves. There is also a balance of naturaland crafted materials, including slate floor-ing from China, maple floors and cupboards,

and cherry, maple and mahogany customfurniture. Mahogany wall panelling from theoriginal bungalow still finishes the walls. Thedolomite limestone of the exterior was pre-served as an interior finish. A pair of Mani-toba Tyndall stone columns frame the spaceopened by the removal of a large picture win-dow in the former living room.

“We were in an era when a bit of fun stuffwas introduced into architectural design,”says Edwards. “They (the columns) may notexactly be a Frank Lloyd Wrightian thing,but we had to put something in to carry theroof. They became kind of a tongue-in-cheekfeature, a little fun.”

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p r e v i e wEvolving

EvergreenSustainable Villageto Grow Naturally

Out on the northeastern edgeof the city, Saskatoon’s newestneighbourhood is about totake shape on the horizon –and it’s going green.

Evergreen, modelled as a sus-tainable urban village neigh-bourhood, will comprise 655acres in the northeast corner ofthe city, in the UniversityHeights Suburban Develop-ment area.

“We’re continuing along thepath of creating neighbour-hoods with a sense of place,”says Land Branch senior plan-ner Derek Thompson, who isthe principal designer of the Ev-ergreen neighbourhood. He wasalso the principal designer of theWillowgrove neighbourhood.

To develop that sense ofplace, Thompson starts by es-tablishing a village square sur-rounded by neighbourhoodcommercial and retail services.It’s a similar concept to what hasalready been applied inWillowgrove. It’s also one thatmost Saskatoon residentsshould already find familiar.

“What we’re hoping toachieve in Evergreen is toachieve a little slice of the Broad-

way District in a suburbanneighbourhood,” says Thomp-son. “We’ve been successful ingetting a neighbourhood com-mercial zone that will force thebuildings facades out to thesidewalk edge with the parkingbehind the buildings and on thestreet. We’ve widened the streetsaround the village square so thatwe can accommodate angleparking which helps to createmore of a pedestrian and ve-hicular integrated place — kindof a focal point within the neigh-bourhood.”

The commercial district issurrounded by higher densityresidential units including streettownhouses, a more modern

application of traditional rowhousing.

“We try to create the neigh-bourhood like a city would natu-rally evolve, with the centre of itbeing like the downtown whichhas a little bit higher density andmore of an urban life style,” saysThompson. “When you get outto the fringes you have the bigpie shaped lots, the crescentsand the cul-de-sacs containinga lower density housing envi-ronment.”

Overall, the density of the Ev-ergreen neighbourhood is ex-pected to be around eight unitsper acre, about what you’d findin someplace like Nutana orCaswell Hill, says Thompson.

By contrast, density of a typi-cal suburb in most cities is muchless than five units per acre. Itdoesn’t seem like a lot, but itmakes a big difference in howsustainable a neighbourhoodbecomes.

“If you look at the plan, itdoesn’t look like it’s going to bethat dense,” says Thompson.It’s all in the way you design theinterface between housingforms, he says. It’s possible tobuild higher densities, while stillgiving people who like lowerdensities the kind of life stylethey like.

“The beauty of an urban vil-lage type of neighbourhood isthat you do offer a variety of

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housing forms. Interestinglyenough, when you offer a vari-ety of housing forms, you inevi-tably offer an entire life cycle ofhousing forms.

“Let’s say you get out of uni-versity and get your first job, you

might buy an apartment condo-minium. When you make a bitof money and get married orhave a partner you may want tostep up to a townhouse. Then,when you have children, youmight want to upgrade into a

larger house. And so on, thendownsize when you’re an emptynester.”

The development has evendesignated up to three lots perphase for residential carehomes, says Thompson.

In addition to the village cen-tre, Evergreen will also containa district village near the north-east corner, off McOrmondRoad. In a different time andplace, this feature might be asprawling shopping mall or big

The Concept:■ Sustainable urban villageresidential neighbourhood.■ Variety of housing types:single family homes, multi-unit street and group town-houses, affordable and entrylevel housing, residential carehomes.■ Village centre: town squarewith commercial and retail de-

velopment to provide a centraldestination point for the com-munity■ District village: shopping cen-tre providing retail and businessopportunities for Evergreen andfuture neighbourhoods, plusinstitutional (e.g. banks) andhigh-density housing■ Location: northeast side ofthe city, in University Heights

area, east of Silverspring andSaskatoon Forestry Farm,north of Agriculture Canadaresearch lands■ Area: 655 acres■ Green space: more than 42acres of open space and linearparks, multi-use trails andunique green bridge■ Estimated population:12,774

■ Time line: concept plan, fall2008; public consultations,fall and winter 2008-2009;city council review, early 2009;site preparation, spring 2009;lot sales for the first phase, fall2009

source:“Proposed Evergreen Con-cept Plan,” City of Saskatoon.

Evergreen: Sustainable Neighbourhood

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box development. Thompsonsays that to make it function aspart of the community, it needsto be integrated into the neigh-bourhood.

In most suburban shoppingdistricts, the buildings face in-ward and their stark, featurelessrear walls present a barrier thatfaces the entry roads. For the Ev-ergreen district village, the landwill be subdivided so that at theperimeter there will be a row ofsmall storefronts facing thestreet. On-street parking willprovide easy access to theshops. Zoning would allow resi-dential space above the com-mercial properties on the street.Larger stores will be behind, fac-ing inwards as the public is ac-customed to experiencing, butthe design will allow the districtvillage to present a more wel-coming face to the public.

“When you come in on theroad to the district village, it willlook like Broadway,” saysThompson.

The neighbourhood will betied together by parks, greenspace, linear parks and a trailnetwork.

“We’ve got the same asWillowgrove,” he says, “but wetook it a step further in thatwe’re preserving two rows ofapproximately 50-year-oldScots pine that used to be partof the Forestry Farm and we’rebuilding linear parks aroundthem. We’re preserving thenatural features of the neigh-bourhood.”

A very different feature is the

“green bridge” that joins thegreen space and connects thetwo halves of the neighbour-hood across McOrmond Drive.Rather than create a narrow,steep concrete and steel pedes-trian overpass or culvert-styleunderpass, the designer wantedto maintain the continuous,graceful flow of the linear park.The green bridge rises gently upand over the arterial road andthen down the other side.

The concept is like the land-scaped wildlife crossings inBanff National Park.

“That was where we got theidea,” says Thompson. “Wehaven’t done the detailed designfor it yet, but that’s our vision forit. We don’t know how wide it’sgoing to be, but we are deter-mined that the greenery and theshrubs and the plantings fromthe linear park will continue upover McOrmond Drive with the

everything that you can withinthe context that exists today.Good planning looks to the fu-ture.”

“It’s actually a village,” saysThompson, who notes that hespent his formative years in halfa dozen villages in Germany,France and Belgium. “I knowit’s not going to be a village likethe ones I grew up in, in Europe,but it’s a village.”

“I think it was a natural wayfor an urban designer who de-signs neighbourhoods to starthis life.”

As plans currently stand, theEvergreen village will be devel-oped over 15 years in sixplanned phases, starting in thesouth near Lowe Road andclose to Silverspring, then work-ing clockwise. The phasingstrategy takes into account therate of servicing, socio-eco-nomic conditions and marketpressures. The first ground isexpected to be broken this falland the first lots for sale by nextfall.

trail system.”On the west, the trail network

and linear park system connectwith Silverspring. At south, atrail network will complementaccess along Lowe Road, pro-viding access to the soccer cen-tres and beyond.

“This is a holistic neighbour-hood design. You can’t get eve-rything, but you try to maximize

Ward 10 Councillor Excited by Public Desirefor Sustainable Neighbourhoods

There’s a growing public expectation that future neighbourhoodsare going to have to be more sustainable than they have been inthe past, says city councillor Bev Dubois, whose Ward 10 includesthe upcoming Evergreen neighbourhood.

“It’s no different than people expecting us to build LEED-standard buildings or recycling (facilities)”, she says.

Dubois sounds excited about the village square concept under-pinning Evergreen.

“It’s a good gathering place for people,” she says. “Creating aneighbourhood, including schools, community centres and otherfacilities and services, helps build community, she says.

“There are four more new neighbourhoods that will eventuallybe developed and planned as evergreen is now,” says Dubois.“What we’re looking at is an area that’s going to be really, really,growing in huge numbers over the next 50 years or 60 years or so.

“It’s pretty exciting. I’m looking forward to having another newneighbourhood.”

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NorthCountry

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t h e c i t y

Build It and TheyWill Come

River Landing BringsEvents and Crowds to

the Waterfront

Build it, and they will come. Amovie cliché to be sure, but cer-tainly one that is applicable tothe popular River Landing re-development in downtown

Saskatoon. While the Phase Iriver front pathway was openedin 2007, major amenities, in-cluding the amphitheatre andchildren’s water play feature,were officially opened to greatfanfare on June 20th, 2008.Early numbers from theMeewasin Valley Authority areencouraging. In July, pedestriancounts indicate that the area ex-

perienced a 51 per cent jump inactivity – from 32,364 users permonth in 2007 to 50,592 in2008.

Saskatoon mayor Don Atchi-son noted that from the incred-ible Bridging 125 Celebration in2007, to the recent SaskatoonFireworks Festival, the develop-ment is serving its role in attract-ing special events.

“There are people who havelived their whole lives inSaskatoon, but haven’t been tothe river’s edge,” Atchison said.“River Landing has providedthe kind of access to the riverand attractions that have people

Children enjoying the inaugural “dip”into the newly opened waterplayfeature in River Landing. Photo: SashaGoddard, City of Saskatoon.

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rediscovering their beautifulriver valley.”

It’s the kind of opportunitythat some groups have beenlooking for – and have taken fulladvantage of. The Saskatch-ewan Craft Council recentlymoved their popular WaterfrontCraft Art Festival to the backshore portion of the site, clos-ing off the newly extendedSpadina Crescent East to ac-commodate their many colour-ful booths and pavilions. Organ-izers were very pleased with theresponse – visitations were up240 per cent from the previousyear. Next year’s event promisesto be even bigger and better.

A trip to River Landing isnow not complete without a visitto Prairie Fare. To serve the

needs of the thousands alreadyenjoying the river front, the cityleased the newly-constructedriver front pavilion to a group of

entrepreneurs whooffer an incrediblemenu using locallygrown produce. Prai-rie Fare is a conces-sion restaurant offer-ing everything fromhot dogs to deliciousmeat pies – not tomention lattes, cap-puccinos, and icecream.

Adding to theexperience at River Landing, theCity unveiled significant out-door public art features includ-ing Launch Time, Cut out in

Time, and The Founders – atwice life-size bronze statue de-picting the historic meeting ofChief Whitecap and John Lakeconsidered to be the foundingmoment of the City ofSaskatoon.

Another historic event hasbeen captured for river frontvisitors to enjoy. The five-footkedge anchor from the ill-fatedsternwheeler, S.S. City of Medi-cine Hat, has been restored andplaced on display under theTraffic Bridge. In 1908, lessthan a year after the bridge wasopened, a boat crashed into apier of the bridge and capsized– prompting claims that theevent was Saskatchewan’s big-gest “maritime disaster.”

The new Persephone Thea-

Local artist HansHoltkamp addresses thecrowd during theunveiling of “TheFounders”.

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tre enjoyed an incredible inau-gural season with sold-outcrowds for each of their produc-tions. With a second “blackbox” theatre now open in thefacility, attendance is expectedto increase.

Meanwhile, on the other sideof the Senator Sid BuckwoldBridge, River Landing Phase IIis already creating its own suc-

cess story. The newly openedSaskatoon Farmers’ Market andMarket Square are enjoyingrecord crowds. Likewise, theIdeas Inc. business incubator isat capacity with new entrepre-neurs operating one-of-a-kindretail stores and servicesthrough its commercial retailunits.

Next year, 2009, will see sig-

nificant increases in activity onPhase II when the river frontpathway, including the spec-tacular pedestrian bridge whicharches over the river, will be fullyopen. As well, Isinger Park willbe open and the development ofthe residential and commercialopportunities will begin.

All in all, an impressive firstyear for the development de-signed to bring people back tothe river!

The newly opened Ideas Inc. building is atfull capacity and open for business. Photocredit: Ideas Inc.

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t h e R o o mThe Home Office

Be Comfortable,Not Cramped

Whether it’s for running asmall business or simply forcarving out some space to paythe bills, the home office has

taken a popular and essentialplace in most homes.

With a variety of furnishingsand accessories to choose from,it’s not only possible to turn aspare room into a work space,it’s also feasible to define a por-tion of a room for the purpose.

Modern workstations and workcentres combine compact de-sign with good looks to fit intoany decor.

When setting up your homeoffice, keep in mind that you willwant a space that allows you towork undisturbed or lets you

work without disturbing othermembers of your household. Aquiet corner of the dining room,a spare bedroom or a comfort-able room in the basement canmake a suitable office.

The essential components in-clude a desk or computer table,

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a side table or credenza, a filingcabinet, some storage space anda good executive or computerchair. Additionally, you mightconsider a couple of guest chairsor a small sofa if you expect tobe meeting with people.

Good lighting is critical tokeeping your work environmentcomfortable and preventing eye-strain. Aim for lighting thatcomes from above and behind,so that it illuminates your workwithout casting shadows orcausing glare. Ceiling tracklighting provides flexibility and

Business Furnishings

629 1st Ave North, Saskatoon

phone: 306.934.6959

website: www.busfurn.com

Photo on previous page:All Wood Veneer group in walnut,maple or cherry (cherry shown) byCWI Manufacturing, a division ofCreative Wood Interiors Ltd. of Osler,Saskatchewan, $16,282, available instandard or custom designs. Veneersare hand selected, sewn and thermally-pressed at the factory, a process thatavoids delamination and flaws inveneer joints. Shown are: bow frontdesk, 36 x 78; knee space andmodesty panels; arched front bridgesection with pneumatic key board lift;rectangular top, 18 x 60, supporting aclosed tower hutch (left) with partial

is available in a variety of styles.Augment overhead lighting witha good desk lamp and other ac-cessories that illuminate yourtasks.

DETAILS

CWI Manufacturing

a division of Creative Wood

Interiors Ltd.

Box 340, 57 Osler Street

Osler, Saskatchewan

Phone: 306. 239.2200

Website: www.cwi-mfg.ca

aluminum framed, acid-etched glassdoor, centre hutch with two-door,open-centre top section, closed towerhutch with two partial aluminumframed, acid-etched glass doors; andcombination file cabinet pedestal withlateral file insert, bushed nickel rodpulls. (Not shown: wood pencil drawer,17 x 21; black PVC grommets forpassage of computer and electricalcables; halogen task light in hutch.)

Photo above: Rectangular top, 18 x60, closed tower hutch (left) withpartial aluminum framed, acid-etchedglass door, centre hutch with two-door, open-centre top section, closedtower hutch with two partial aluminumframed, acid-etched glass doors; andcombination file cabinet pedestal withlateral file insert. A portion of thearched front bridge section withpneumatic key board lift is at left.

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B a c k w o r d sThe Good

Neighbour GuideLiving in Harmony

with Folks from theOther Side

Are you a good neighbour or abad one? Could you be a bet-ter one? To recognize the im-portance of the relationshipsthat exist next to your personalproperty line is to realize the ne-cessity of making a very com-mon situation work. Like coun-tries or nations, we are all verymuch stuck in the place wechoose, forced to make do withthe neighbours we have. Thereis almost no ability to put ourhomes on our backs and go else-where so we are forced intolooking for ways to keep ourpersonal kingdoms operating inat least partial harmony withthose on either side. In thatspirit, here are five tips to go afew steps closer toward creatinga whole world full of goodneighbours.

1. Be Friendly

This one ought to be consid-ered a no-brainer. If your cur-rent method of cross-fence com-munication ranges from rude si-lences to hostile sneers todrunken heckles, you can befairly certain any potential

neighborhood bliss is a longway off. Stop being a sour jerkand open up a bit. Those peo-ple live next door, for goodnesssake. Now, no one is suggestingyou devolve into some mind-lessly sycophantic dweeb with aspaced-out grin plastered onyour face, or worse, becomingso obsequiously annoying thatyou could drive the Dalai Lamato the point of insanity. A kindword, or even just a genuine“Good morning” regularly ismore than enough to show yourneighbor that you are pleasant,mature and certainly willing andable to hold a discussion shouldthe need arise. And make no

mistake, whether it’s because ofsomething they did or some-thing you plan to do, the needfor communication will eventu-ally arise.

2. Be Considerate

This one is a little more difficultbecause it requires you to stepoutside of yourself more thanjust a little bit. For example, let'ssay you received a brand newaccordion for your birthday. De-ciding that some regular, out-doors and late-at-night practiceof your new noisemaker doesnot exactly reek of considera-tion. You must take into account

the very real likelihood thatthose living next door to youwould not exactly welcome thecacophonic sound of whatcould only be described as suf-fering cats repeated over andover during the wee hours. Usea little common sense and treatothers as you would like to betreated. If folks are in theirbackyard having a barbecue, re-sist the urge to fire up yourlawnmower and weed the gar-den instead. It shows you careenough to be considerate.

3. Pay Attention

This is one of the most under-utilized skills available to every-one. Take your time one day andlook at the things your neigh-bour likes to do. Also, pay atten-tion to the things they neverseem to do. This is the mostvaluable method of discerningwhat bothers another personand what does not. If yourneighbour spends hours uponhours working in her garden,you can be fairly assured thatany activity that involves youhopping the fence and slicingthe heads off her blossomingsunflowers would annoy herquite deeply. Similarly, it youwere to observe that garbagebarely comes to rest on theirlawn before it is picked up and

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great way to show your sense ofcommunity and a sincere desireto be friendly. Not everyonewants to be best buddies but byrefusing to be stingy with thesmiles, kind words or even ashovel or two, you'll find that thelife you can lead as a neighbourwill be a rewarding one, enhanc-ing the very comfort of yourhome.

Obviously these ideas are notgoing to work if you happen tolive next door to a Hell’s Angelsclubhouse or some JeffreyDahmer wannabe. In such casesthese ideas would more thanlikely lead to an early and grue-some demise, so exercise somecaution and a little street smartswhen it comes to figuring outjust who your neighbours reallyare before you attempt to begood and neighbourly.

After reading these tips, youmay have discovered that thehardest neighbour to get alongwith is actually you. And if that'sthe case, you’re going to need allthe help you can get.

All of us have our own weirdopoints of view or personal issuesand prejudices that form whowe are. If we can sometimes takejust a few moments to step out-side ourselves and see how eventhe little things we do affectsothers, we may just find surpris-ingly simple ways to make livingwith our neighbours a whole loteasier.

We’re all in this together, socan't we all just get along?■ jarrod thalheimer

disposed of, you can be certainthat by personally grabbing andcleaning up whatever trash youmay see on their property wouldbe a great way to put a smile ontheir face.

4. Be Specific

This tip is extremely important.No one is advocating for somekind of Stepford-like adherenceto a false happiness that every-thing is hunky-dory when it isnot. There will be disagree-ments and circumstances whereproblems arise due most oftento nothing more than your ownunique and personally dissimi-lar ways of doing things. Do notlet these sorts of disagreementsfester. If you make it clear toyour neighbor that you person-ally do not enjoy lending outtools or other items, you willsuccessfully remove any need toplan a late-night Ninja style raidto repossess your missing weedwhacker.

5. Be Generous

The person next door to youmight be there for as little as fiveshort months or as long as 55long years. You will never knowexactly how much time you willhave together. Knowing that,what does it hurt to be gener-ous? I'm not saying to makeyour neighbour a co-signer ona Swiss bank account but a smallgift at Christmas or some extrabaking a few times a year is a

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saskatoon home fall 2008

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