Custom Home Builder in Capitol Hill, Burnaby

The slope adds real costs — engineering, retention, drainage, sometimes shoring. The view often justifies them. We're direct about what those costs look like during feasibility so the decision is informed.

Yes. Any tree 20 cm or larger in trunk diameter on a lot under a development application is a Protected Tree under Burnaby's tree bylaw. Capitol Hill lots — particularly on the upper slopes — often carry significant canopy cover. We bring an arborist in during feasibility so the tree inventory shapes the design from the beginning, rather than forcing a redesign at permit review.

Provincial SSMUH legislation permits up to four units on most Burnaby single-family lots, including Capitol Hill. The slope complicates the math — parking, drainage design, and foundation engineering all add to the feasibility equation. Steep lots sometimes pencil for a duplex with a coach house better than a full fourplex. We run the feasibility before any design commitment so you know exactly what's viable on your specific parcel. Note that the City of Burnaby's new zoning bylaw landing July 1, 2026 may adjust unit-count thresholds and parking standards on hillside lots — we re-run the math against the current rules at the time of design.

Capitol Hill is one of Burnaby's defining hillside neighbourhoods — most lots fall meaningfully from street to rear, and a substantial share sit on grades steep enough to trigger geotechnical review under the City's slope thresholds. The cost drivers that follow are structural rather than architectural: shoring, tieback retention, structured drainage and engineered foundations are baseline scope rather than premium upgrades. We walk owners through what those line items mean for the schedule and the structural brief before design starts.

Hillside permitting in Burnaby tends to run longer than flat-grade permitting because the geotechnical and drainage review layers add detail to the file. Most Capitol Hill custom-home permits run roughly 9 to 14 months from design submission to issuance, depending on slope, scope and tree retention. The construction phase typically runs another 14 to 18 months because the foundation and envelope work is more involved. We build that timeline into the schedule from week one so owners aren't surprised by review windows.

Both sit on the same north-facing slope above Burrard Inlet, but Capitol Hill is steeper and the lots tend to be larger. The view from the upper streets reaches further across the inlet to the North Shore mountains, and the quieter, more residential streetscape supports more ambitious view-driven architecture. Burnaby Heights is closer to the Hastings commercial corridor and feels more pedestrian. For a quieter view lot with room for serious architecture, Capitol Hill. For walkability to amenity with a view, the Heights.