Expert gives advice on secondary suites overhaul
Posted Apr 13, 2016 10:22 am.
Last Updated Apr 13, 2016 1:32 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Calgary has 99 problems, and they’re all secondary suites.
The process to apply for one at City Hall can be a gruelling process, in fact on Monday, council had a marathon meeting debating 26 secondary suites, 21 were ultimately passed.
Despite even the mayor pointing out problems with the protocol, there have been no moves to change it.
“Calgary is one of the only large metropolitan centres in Canada that does not permit secondary suites (everywhere),” Jyoti Gondek, Director of the Westmen Centre for Real Estate Studies at the Haskayne School of Business, said.
Gondek says other cities rely on development and building permits to make sure suites are up to regulation.
She thinks because Calgary is still young, we feel uneasy about density.
“If you think about secondary suites being perceived as having a greater impact — simply because they’re literally in your backyard oftentimes — that may be a bit of the unease,” Gondek said. “We may be caught in that trap of slowly evolving to a denser city, and people are uncomfortable with it.”
Gondek says if city council trusts the process, and the administration, land use is not where they need to worry.
“There are different things that city council can do, but their decision so far has been to look at each one individually and independently,” she said, adding there’s a simple solution.
“Why wouldn’t we try out a scenario where you do allow secondary suites in every area of the city — you permit as part of the land use — and anyone that really doesn’t want it — that really is struggling with having that S on their land use — can certainly apply for a land use change?”
Gondek says a neighbourhood’s “single family feel” is not a planning principle but a preference.
