The enclosed balcony zoning bylaw provisions have evolved over the years - originally in the early 90s there were few restrictions on size, etc. but they were truly "enclosed balconies".
In some of the building along Pacific Blvd you will see a raised sill to enter the enclosed balcony and you will see a drain in the middle of the tiled floor. In my condo, built in the early 90s, there is fibreglass insulation in the wall separating my enclosed balcony from the living room (i.e. treated as outdoor space) and the sliding glass door is an indoor/outddor door. Generally, there is no heating in an enclosed balcony (at least in older units - don't know if the absence of heating is a requirement).
For zoning purposes, enclosed balconies are excluded from FSR provided that they meet certain requirements set out in the zoning bylaw (not sure of all of the requirements, so you would have to check with the City on those requirements). But despite that developers and real estate agents tout them as dens, studies and additional bedrooms. The City became upset about the enclosed balconies being touted as bedrooms so over the years and have reduced the maximum size of the enclosed balconies to the extent that many are only about 5 ft wide by maybe 8 or 10 ft long (i.e. unusable as a bedroom). The current zoning bylaw also requires a split between outdoor and indoor balcony space in a building (a certain ratio averaged over the whole building I think).
The requirements for an enclosed balcony include an "impermeable" floor. That means tile - not hardwood. One developer in Coal Harbour - for the Palladio - made the mistake of installing hardwood throughout their enclosed balconies and the City discovered that post-possession and since it did not meet the exemption requirement, the City forced the developer to purchase extra density from the heritage density bank to bring those enclosed balconies into FSR.
Nowadays, condo owners and the renovation industry is becoming more attuned to the issue and you see applications to the Development Permit Board to purchase additional density to remove an enclosed balcony wall and bring it into FSR.
If you do not get the proper permits, you may be opening yourself up to a lawsuit in future. Of course, properties are usually sold "as is"- but it is a possibility. One example was in the Iliad Building on Homer when the developer (as a resale) sold a unit from which the enclosed balcony was removed. The purchaser applied to the City for a building permit to renovate the space and was refused unless they reinstalled the enclosed balcony - that scuttled the purchaser's plans to renovate (or at least required them to purchase additional density). A lawsuit ensued.
Here's an example of a recent application to purchase FSR to remove walls of an enclosed balcony.
http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/plannin...20DE411933.pdf
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