Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Friday, 01 November 2013 06:00
The city of Vernon is taking a closer look at easing the rules around secondary suites. Council has given staff approval to investigate the feasibility of allowing homes with secondary suites, to not have the owner living in either the primary unit or the secondary suite. Supporters say it could create more affordable housing, but councillor Bob Spiers believes it will lead to people turning single family homes into what amount to duplexes, and he's opposed. "That's what really a secondary suite is, an up and down duplex, and they won't be paying all the required fees, and it becomes a rental unit. It's not something I would think would do the public any good." Mayor Rob Sawatzky says at this point, staff is just gathering information on the issue and finding out what other communities do. "Without the information we can't really be certain that our policy is the way we want it be," Sawatzky says. Sawatzky says the proposal was forwarded to council from the affordable housing advisory committee.
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Don Quixote Note: Presently legal secondary suites must take out a yearly business licence and must be owner occupied.
A list of licensed suites can be found by going to http://ecommerce.vernon.ca/vernoncf/COV_BusinessLicence_Search.cfm
AND type in secondary in business type line and click 'search'
1 comment:
Sorry Bob that link does not work, and the City website link to "Business Licencing" does not work either.
When you do finally access the right page (by searching in the Google searchbox and clicking away the error to get to the Business Licence database), you will find out there are exactly 51 business licences issued for "secondary suites".
The planning assistant told us with a smile 2 years ago that there are in fact more than a thousand secondary suites in Vernon.
Perhaps staff could provide an estimate of the true number of non-conforming secondary suites already in existence, before we open the floodgates to allow more greedy landlords to pack more tenants into more single-family houses that are simply not designed to accommodate multiple families?
I do not agree that a secondary suite is the same as a duplex. For example, will there be sufficient on-site parking for all those tenants? Probably not. A duplex is purposely constructed to meet those needs, but a suite rarely is.
The City already allows secondary suites in single family dwellings that are owner occupied, without requiring a secondary development permit - isn't that enough?
Will the City include compensation in its budget for the neighbouring property owner, who can only sit and watch as the City apparently pursues policies that will turn their neighbourhood into a renter's slum while their property value continues to plummet?
Pretty soon, all housing in Vernon will be affordable. Vernon, make it yours!
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