Erica Heuer wants to build a triplex in Riverdale, but she's facing some opposition from her neighbours.

Her lot is currently zoned for single-detached housing. Heuer appeared before council last month to apply for a zoning amendment on the property to build her triplex.

The property was previously owned by Yukon Electrical Co. Ltd.

It is on an undersized lot, just 464 square metres, where the minimum requirement for single detached homes is 554 square metres and 835 for duplexes.

Heuer appeared before council again last Monday night for a public hearing into her proposed development.

"I thought, there are no healthy houses being built here, no sustainable houses, they are not beautiful, I wanted to offer something different, and I thought that I could,” she said.

The proposed development is in line with the 2010 Official Community Plan, which stipulates "flexible and affordable housing types,” such as Heuer's.

If approved, Heuer's building would be passive house certified. That means it would meet a specified standard of energy efficiency, as certified by the passive house institute.

It would be the first of its kind in Whitehorse.

"I am talking about a very energy-efficient house, so much so that you don't need a furnace, you don't need to burn fossil fuels,” she said.

"We will have sheep's wool in the walls if this is allowed to go ahead. Really, there are so many things that maybe are a platform for interesting partnerships around town as well.”

Each of the units would be about 296 square metres over two floors, with no basement and a peak roof height of 8.5 metres, or 1.5 metres below the 10-metre maximum for residential properties.

The walls would have an insulation value of R50 – almost twice the city's new green standard of R28 walls – and an R80 roof.

The windows, doors, appliances and lighting would be high-efficiency products. There would be a rainwater and greywater collection system so water can be recycled to flush the toilet or water the yard.

The proposed development would maintain the appearance of a single-family home, remaining in character with the neighbourhood.

The development meets all other requirements, including setbacks from the property lines and height restrictions.

Parking would be provided for through rear lane access to the back of the triplex.

Some neighbours have not been receptive to the idea.

"Sure it's a passive house, but you're still going to have people in it. It's passive now; there's nobody on it,” said Robert Deklerck, a Riverdale resident.

"I mean you are still going to have toilets, and wear and tear on the infrastructure, and the street is tight, they are talking about parking in the alley. You can't get down the alley right now, they don't maintain them.”

Deklerck moved to the neighbourhood in 1996, partly because he did not want to see the area developed beyond the single detached homes, already existing in Riverdale.

Though he cannot see the proposed development from his own home, he believes the building is out of character with the neighbourhood and on a smaller lot, and to allow it on the ground that it is a sustainable development amounts to a form of exceptionalism.

"I am sorry, but my understanding is that it's 960 square feet. Multiply that by three and that's 2,900 sq. ft. To me, that's a monster house,” he said.

"I understand their situation, but they knew that before that it didn't meet the standard, so why are we changing now?

"They bought a lot that is not standard. Why now, all of a sudden, are they allowing them to put a three-plex in? Because it's passive?”

He thinks the development could also set the precedent that large-scale development is acceptable in the neighbourhood.

"It's not this particular one that scares me so much,” he said. "But this is the thin edge .... If we develop much more, next thing I know, I have to pay for a new trunk line because the sewer system is tapped out, we've had a lot of development there.”

He is not alone.

There were five written submissions — three opposed, two with concerns about the development — proposed to council during the hearing.

For her part, Heuer maintains that the units would be small and efficient, which is a departure from some of the other homes in the neighbourhood.

"There are a lot of houses on that street with many more occupants who own a lot more vehicles than we are going to have if this is allowed to go through,” she said.

As far as added traffic goes, she has proposed individual parking spaces in the alley behind the house.

She said the residents, who have already been selected for two of the units, would generally use bicycles to travel to and from home.

"I don't know that we would be contributing to traffic much more than already exists,” said Heuer.

A final report will be made before council on this evening. The proposal will receive its second and third reading on March 26.