City and builder tussle over tiny lot in East Vancouver

A tiny lot in East Vancouver is at the centre of a larger tussle between city officials and the company that recently purchased the sliver of land. 

At just 9 feet wide by 60 feet deep, 1916 William Street is a quirky anomaly amid surrounding lots that are seven times the size. 

But quirky is what convinced Lanefab — builders of Vancouver's first laneway house over a decade ago — to buy the little lot in June for $220,000, $69,000 below the asking price.

"I thought it was kind of intriguing just because we've always been interested in small spaces and odd sorts of things," said Lanefab co-owner Bryn Davidson.

After closing, the company put up a nice fence, secured an electrical permit and began construction on a portable office pod. But in short order, they were served notice the structure had to come down because zoning doesn't allow for an office pod unless there's a house on the lot.

"The city ... said that we are not allowed an accessory building if we don't have a primary building. They actually sent a letter to our lawyer asking us to remove that building in the next 60 days," said Davidson. 

"I'm a bit frustrated that they're going to these efforts to harass us over a hundred square foot building on a tiny lot."