The controversial issue of illegal suites is before the City of Vernon again.
Council decided Monday to send the matter to the affordable housing committee after Coun. Pat Cochrane raised concerns about the current bylaw governing suites. “There’s hundreds of illegal suites out there and we’ve put citizens in a position of breaking the bylaw,” he said. “We need to find a way of approving appropriate suites and shutting down those that aren’t.” The city launched a process a few years ago that allowed illegal suites to be sanctioned but only three have gone through the process. A possible stumbling block is the city insisting on development cost charges for suites. DCCs are collected on each new development to assist in the funding infrastructure. “The cost is prohibitive,” said Coun. Juliette Cunningham, adding there is a lack of affordable housing locally. That is also the view of Cochrane, who says the city’s priority should be safe residential accommodations. “Some of the suites people shouldn’t be living in,” he said. “I’d rather see the $14,000 go into upgrades than into DCCs.” Coun. Barry Beardsell opposed sending the matter to the affordable housing committee.
"Tread very lightly when dealing with DCCs,” he said, adding that past moves have hurt the city financially. “Don’t fool around with DCCs when you don’t know the impact and unfairness on taxpayers.” Beardsell believes the city has been proactive with illegal suites by only responding when a complaint is received. You can drive around and see single family homes but by the cars there, you know it’s more than single-family. It’s not hurting anyone,” he said. Dale Rintoul, city planner, pointed out that a common complaint about illegal suites is parking, and they do place pressure on existing infrastructure. “Other communities are struggling with it,” he said
No comments:
Post a Comment