Secondary Suites – Important information regarding changes to current R-C1 zoning
Update: The City of Calgary has now made the report to Council fully outlining all of the proposed changes available for review. It can be found here:
In that this document is both lengthy and somewhat difficult to understand, the FCC has created a helpful interpretation that can be found here:
https://calgarycommunities.com/secondary-suite-report/
Letter to Calgary home owners
At this point in time, the HHBH Community Association has not formally taken a position on the proposed land use changes. The City’s current approach to Secondary Suite Reform has made it abundantly clear that it is most interested in hearing from individual residents directly rather than from Community Associations on behalf of their residents. For example, consider that in the letter sent to all affected land owners encouraged them to contact council directly or present at the public meeting – it mentioned nothing of communities or community associations.
As such, rather than a group of community ‘representatives’ getting together and spending time and energy collaborating on a position that would probably not end up representing the actual position of any particular resident, it is more effective for each member of the community interested in doing so to individually let our elected officials know her/his position on the matter.
To further that objective, our Community Association is committed to:
- i) ensuring that our residents are aware of the Secondary Suite Reform initiative going before council, especially considering the short timelines involved and that the city is not employing the methods of public consultation that it typically uses for proposed changes of this nature
- ii) providing our residents with access to as much detailed information about the Secondary Suite Reform initiative as possible
iii) encouraging our residents to formulate their own position on the initiative and communicate that position to our elected officials either in writing or in person
What is a Discretionary Development Permit (DP)?
All DPs are either Permitted or Discretionary. A Discretionary DP:
Is processed through the City of Calgary Planning Department rather than requiring a Council hearing,
requires that a notice is posted for two weeks on the property with information about what is planned, who to contact for more details and deadlines for Community Association and neighbours’ comments
may be appealed (i.e. at the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board)
What is the Motion being voted on March 12th?
The Motion has three key components:
Secondary suites would move to a discretionary use in R-1, R-C1 and R-1L districts;
A mandatory Secondary Suite Registry;
Reinstatement of fees for secondary suite applications.
It is important to note that while this is being presented as a complete package, Council will vote on each piece separately: they can choose to adopt all or parts or none of the pieces.
What does the current Motion mean?
If passed, all R-C1 properties will allow for suites with only a discretionary Development Permit.
What do you think could help to mitigate some of the commonly-expressed concerns around secondary suites? The following items are not part of the Motion, but may be worth considering. If you think any of these are important or have other suggestions, you need to let your Councillor and Community Association know.
Garage and laneway houses will be allowed as part of this Motion under the current proposal. Should this change be limited to basement suites which are fully contained within a house? A garage or laneway house could be much more intrusive for close neighbors.
Is a mandatory registration crucial (i.e. All suites must be registered, otherwise they are considered illegal)?
What about renewable licensing (similar to a home-based business since a suite is generally income generating): should a license be required when the property is sold or redeveloped? Should a suite inspection occur at that time to ensure suite safety so that no tenant resides in a suite that does not meet building codes?
Should there be penalties for non-registered or non-licenced suites?
Should fees for secondary suite applications and development permits be reinstated? (Since August 2015, fees have been waived.)
Is it important that all suites have adequate parking?
Should there be a provision so that suites cannot be used as short-term rentals (i.e. Airbnb)?
Should there be increased city bylaw enforcement resources to ensure all suites meet property standards for maintenance and upkeep? Should there be penalties for not meeting bylaws in regards to aspects such as maintenance and upkeep standards?
What can you do?
Submit feedback or concerns to your Councillor, your Community Association and to all Councillors (since all will be voting on this Motion). Unless they hear from you, they will not know what you think about this proposed Secondary Suite change.
You can call 403-268-5311 or visit www.calgary.ca/suitereform for more information.
Letters concerning these bylaw amendments must be received by the City Clerk no later than 12:00 p.m. (noon), March 5, 2018, in order to be included in the Agenda of Council.
Any person who wishes to address Council in person on this matter on March 12, 2018 may do so for a maximum of five minutes. On the Hearing date, anyone present can speak: you do not have to apply ahead of time.
If you have any feedback on this or any issue affecting the HH-BH community, or would like to become more actively involved in planning and development issues related to HH-BH, please send an email with your contact information to Jeff Marsh, our director of strategic planning, at strategic.planning@hh-bh.ca
Addresses:
Hounsfield Heights-Briar Hill Community Association: admin@hh-bh.ca
Councillor Druh Farrell: calgary.ca/citycouncil/ward-7/Pages/WardDefault.aspx
All Councillors: if you send out a mail to councillorweb@calgary.ca, it will be forwarded to all councillors
Mayor Nenshi: themayor@calgary.ca
Public Submissions for the Council Hearing: PublicSubmissions@calgary.ca