OUR VISION
Building Environmental and Economical Sustainable Places Of Tomorrow
We use the metaphor of a bee and its honeycombs because the ideal neighbourhood should function as efficiently as a beehive. Our logo depicts a Sustainable cul-de-sac with our BEESPOT Features. The combination of these attributes results in an entirely sustainable housing solution.
A BEESPOT LIFESTYLE
Populated by people who choose to live a values-based sustainable lifestyle that offers greater affordability through the mix of generations on smaller lots and efficient passive homes.
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Net-zero energy cul-de-sac neighbourhood
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Less than average cars per household with strata car-sharing
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Compact, bright, and quiet passive homes
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Accessibly designed for multi-generational living
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Proximity to schools and community amenities
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Nearby transit routes and regional bike trails
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Birdfeeders, beehives, and pet-friendly
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Organic vegetable gardens and fruit trees
ONE PLANET LIVING
One Planet Living is a vision of the world where for everyone, everywhere can live happy, healthy lives within the limits of our One Planet.
BEESPOT Neighbourhoods is committed to creating places where people can live a values-based lifestyle, encouraging sustainable living for generations to come. We have developed our One Planet Action Plan as part of the One Planet Saanich initiative. The One Planet Action Plan is a way of planning, implementing and monitoring One Planet Living through our projects. It is a living document that can be revised and updated as our experience and knowledge progresses.
IDEAL LOCATION
Situated close to the municipal core, BEESPOT families reduce travel and commute times, ultimately mimizing their carbon footprint.
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Proximity to schools and community recreation and shops
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Minutes away from multiple transit routes
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Easy access to regional trails (foot and bike accessible)
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Nearby children's parks, preschools, and daycares
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Located within the Urban Containment Boundary
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Municipal services (water, utilities, recyclables, etc.)
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Close to many community amenities and shops
PASSIVE HOUSES
Together, both direct and indirect household CO2 emissions accounted for 45% of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2007
Passive homes aim to save 90% of the power used by conventionally built homes while improving air quality and reducing noise and operating costs. The long-lasting construction of passive homes matches the investment in renewable energy.
1. The temperature inside is always the same
The Passive House gives stability to the temperature of the whole house, every hour and every day.
They reduce heat losses in winter and prevent heat inputs in summer, thus establishing the ideal temperature throughout the house.
2. The home is more comfortable
The insulation implanted in the home allows all the rooms to have the same temperature and is also within the comfort parameters. This happens because cold spots are avoided that produce the habitual energetic escapes of the houses.
3. Reduce heating expense
The great thermal insulation implanted in the passive houses and the last generation windows, avoid any change of temperature in the interior, so it will not be necessary to produce almost heating. In addition, the little heating or artificial ventilation that may be needed, is produced with very efficient systems.
4. Solar orientation
When the building or the house is new construction, the orientation will adapt to the sun, to make the most of all the solar benefits and natural light, also avoiding summer overheating.
5. Eliminate CO2 emissions
By consuming no fossil fuels for home energy in a BEESPOT, the emission of CO2 is zero thus eliminating polluting that cause climate change.
6. Great acoustic insulation
The windows used in a passive house, are triple glazed and double air chamber, so not only serves as thermal insulation but also make acoustic insulation, allowing outside noise to become virtually imperceptible.
7. More efficient ventilation
The installation of a ventilation system produces a totally controlled air circulation, without currents or temperature changes, creating a pleasant sensation of comfort. The extracted air heats the new air in a very efficient way.
8. Gain in health
The filtered air avoids the presence of dust and pollen, which reduces the allergic reactions and the cleaning of the indoor dust. In addition, the low concentration of CO2 and volatile organic compounds reduces the feeling of fatigue and other ailments.
9. Very good amortization
The additional cost of a new passive house on the overall price of the work, is exchanged for a lifetime of energy saving, unparalleled thermal comfort and a drastic reduction of emissions throughout the life of the building.
MULTI-GENERATIONAL LIVING
Proximity to the urban core and transit network allows BEESPOT families to optimize travel and commute times and thereby minimize their carbon footprint.
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Greater affordability for young adults through shared investment
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Promotes health and wellbeing through encouraging family connectivity and support
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Respects demographic needs through accessible ‘elevator-ready’ house design
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Anticipates family support for childcare
ENCOURAGING ORGANIC FOOD PRODUCTION
Plant, grow, and eat organically at home.
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Vegetable gardens, berry bushes, and fruit trees
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No need to drive to community gardens
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Eliminate pollution and reduce carbon footprint
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Host local Beehives in BEESPOT neighbourhoods
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Live not just on the land, but from the land
SMALLER LOT SIZES
Less is more. Smaller lots allow for investment in modern renewable energy systems and passive home construction.
By creating five SPOTS per acre of land within the Urban Containment Boundary (in keeping with the existing neighbourhood cul-de-sac streetscape), five families will be offered an alternative to costly and inefficient single family dwellings.
BEESPOT ECONOMICS
Smaller land lots + energy saving Passive Houses + renewable energy systems = reduced operating costs
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Reduce the land cost per single family lot by rezoning urban land into smaller lots within municipal guidelines without zoning variances
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Build smaller Passive Houses that save energy by 70% and sell excess renewable energy back to the Hydro power grid, resulting in Net Zero/Net Positive Energy
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Harness sustainable energy by investing in renewable power systems and conservation methods that reduce the costs of a BEESPOT neighbourhood
QUALITY OF LIFE
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Fresh air and quiet comfort of Passive House Design
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Permeable surfaces and green grids (NO paved road or driveways)
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Smaller, manageable lots with more green space (NO big lots)
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NO Wood-burning stoves (ONLY for outdoor baking!)
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Only electric heat (NO oil-burning furnace, chimney, propane or natural gas burning fireplaces)
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Zero CO2 emissions (NO pollution)
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Solar roofs (NO asphalt shingles)
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Quiet battery and electric mowers or leaf blowers (NO GAS)
"BEECAUSE IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO"
Change is about choice: choosing a new way of living that supports people and the planet
BEESPOT LOTS AND HOUSES WILL TYPICALLY INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING FEATURES:
✔ Certified Passive Houses meeting STEP CODE 5 energy efficient building vs minimum building code
✔ Solar roof tiles or photovoltaic panels generating 100% renewable energy
Triple glazed argon windows with PASSIVE roof shading design combined with Heat Recovery Ventilation to maximize comfort
✔ Ample parking to accommodate residents and guest with double indoor garages
✔ Grid-tied smart meters to supply excessively generated electricity to BC HYDRO for the credit of homeowner’s account
✔ Fruit trees and berry bushes & vegetable gardens planned on-site for Organic food production
✔ Water catchment collection and/or well sourced water provides for irrigation
✔ Zoned RS-8 for Home & office occupation to reduce commuting
✔ Electric car STRATA car share
✔ Main floor living provides “no-step” accessible living
✔ Independent suites provide affordable rental/mortgage helper or multi-generational living /assistance
✔ Zero Co2 emission, Net Zero Design
At the heart of BEESPOT is a simple desire to do things differently for the right reasons and for the greater good of families, communities, and the environment.
THE BEESPOT STORY - BY NINO, FOUNDER
I’m not a professional developer. I am a son, a father, an uncle, a grandfather and a neighbour – a citizen choosing to create a new way of living that supports people and the planet. I'm a BEESPOTTER, and this is my BEESPOT story.
I love travelling with my children. There is something about spending dedicated time with people I cherish that ignites my sense of awareness, responsibility and creative determination. Two separate trips – one to witness a wedding proposal by my eldest son – and one to celebrate my daughter’s twenty-second birthday – these hours were transformative experiences that launched this BEESPOT journey. We were quite literally taking off!
At the heart of BEESPOT is a simple desire to do things differently, for the right reasons, and for the greater good of families, communities and the environment.
BEESPOT is the convergence of time-earned perspective, curiosity and the desire of a father to create a different homeowner experience for my three children – and for everyone’s children — and to ensure that we shift our collective thinking, committing, through our actions, to minimize our environmental footprint.
Family is everything to me. It’s tough for our young adult children to find their way. Post-secondary education doesn’t necessarily equate to jobs that can sustain them right away. Many are starting their careers with huge burdens of student loan debt, and more and more frequently, I hear young people giving up on the dream of one day being able to afford their own home in the Capital Region. Once married, where will they grow their children? Where will they grow their food? My younger son purchased his “miniature” condo with no green space, no yard, no conservation systems and no renewable energy.
At a 9:1 ratio of cost to income, the mortgage costs and utility/strata costs are expensive and increasing. To make matters worse, I also hear a generalized acceptance of this ‘reality’ from parents, many who are also struggling to figure out how they can afford the payments on their own homes let alone plan for retirement.
So, what do we do about this? What can be done? Just accepting that our children must leave the community far from their extended family to find an affordable place to live is unacceptable. Can we stand by and witness that affordability is dividing communities rather than uniting them? I say no, let’s do something about it as individual citizens. Through BEESPOT, I am choosing to build something innovative and realizable. Its success will be measured once multiple generations have lived our neighbourhood dream, and experienced the environmental and economical impacts of a BEESPOT lifestyle.
Perspective without judgement frees us to be inspired by curiosity and creativity and emboldens us to “BEE” the change that we want to see for our children.
With BEESPOT, I am choosing to create a new way of living that supports people and the planet. I look forward to meeting you to get more critical insight. Every person that has listened to my story and our plan has inspired with their comments to improve the framework of BEESPOT 1.0 ……a SUSTAINABLE PLACE OF TOMORROW!
OUR VALUES
CAN YOU IMAGINE A BEESPOTTER LIFESTYLE?
Your proposal is so unique, finally someone is thinking both outside the box and of our future generations. We would give your proposal 2 thumbs up and wish you the best of luck moving forward. Society needs focused thinking about the future generations when we are considering new developments and neighbourhoods. Thank you for your vision, and hope The District of Saanich feels the same.
Neighbour
Hello, Nino. Very pleased to have met with you and to share the delightful conversation on this quite brilliant proposal.
Elected Official
This type of Development could well be a Trendsetter, as to my knowledge, I am not aware of any projects that so aptly deals with Environmental concerns that are talked about, but so rarely acted upon. I believe that if this project proceeds as laid out in your proposal, it would be a credit not only to our immediate neighbourhood, but to the greater community of Saanich. Good luck.
Neighbour
We were very impressed with the level of detail that your proposal encompasses, the project seems to have been carefully thought through and more than addresses any concerns we might have. We are impressed with your approach to environmental concerns.
Neighbour
Hi Nino..what a great concept. “BEESPOT” is a game-changer.
Neighbour
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