Council taking second look at secondary suites

By John Moorhouse Penticton Herald Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Penticton council is looking to the public for input, as it ponders whether secondary suites could help ease the affordable housing crunch in the city. The legalization of secondary suites is among the proposals put forward in a special report on affordable housing, presented to council Monday. Consultant Mike Brown said municipal governments can achieve more affordable housing through their own policies and regulations, direct funding through a housing reserve fund, or in partnership with senior governments or community organizations.
Although the federal and provincial governments have helped fund housing for special needs groups, no such assistance has been available for the core need group – low income earners who earn less than Penticton‘s median household income of about $44,000 a year. Brown noted on average, secondary suites make up about 10 per cent of the available housing supply in a municipality. In Kelowna, practically all new homes priced over $400,000 include rough plumbing and electrical wiring for secondary suites. “The standards we had in the past aren‘t necessarily the standards we will have in the future,” he said.

Mayor Jake Kimberley acknowledged that illegal secondary suites already exist in homes throughout the city, but he suggested their legalization could open the door to other problems. He pointed to increased bylaw enforcement, parking complaints, and concerns from nearby residents fearing lower property values. “I know some municipalities have legalized them and some municipalities are considering withdrawing that legalization,” he said. “As soon as you legalize them, they then become an income entity which the owner of the property has to declare as income to the tax authorities.” It‘s estimated Penticton needs 300-400 new rental units to meet current needs. However, Kimberley wondered if legalization of secondary suites would result in a dramatic increase in that type of housing. “Personally, I don‘t know if it‘s going to make a heck of a lot of difference with respect to those individuals looking for low-income rental -- because it‘s already happening out there,” he said.

Coun. Garry Litke noted affordable housing is another provincial responsibility which is being downloaded onto municipalities. “The problem lands on our doorstep because we see the homeless people on our streets,” Litke said. “Even though we only collect about eight per cent of the total tax revenue that‘s collected from our taxpayers, we‘re expected to solve all the problems in our community.” The lack of affordable housing is also impacting the business sector. Coun. Dan Ashton pointed to the growing number of help wanted signs in shop windows, suggesting many employees simply can‘t afford to live in Penticton. After a discussion that lasted for an hour-and-a half, council referred the report to city staff for recommendations on seeking public input into secondary suites and selected other affordable housing issues. It‘s hoped the matter to go before a public meeting in the near future. Kimberley said the public will have an opportunity to scrutinize the affordable housing report in detail and provide feedback on the secondary suite issue. It would then be up to council to decide how to proceed from there. Affordable housing was cited as one of council‘s top priorities for 2007. However, it has been an ongoing issue for the past several years.