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Secondary suite shot down by council
By NEIL HORNER
News Reporter
September 18th, 2007
A bid by a Qualicum Beach homeowner to make a dent in the chronic shortage of affordable housing had his plan shot down by council. In a report to council, director of planning Paul Butler said current policies in the town's official community plan - and the potential to become a precedent - made it inadvisable to allow a secondary suite to be legalized at 129 Hornby Place. Although the home is close to areas designated for multi-family and mixed residential zoning, it is still in the single family zone. The owners, Kevin and Janice Keliher, bought the Hermitage Park-area home in January, complete with a secondary suite downstairs which had previously been rented out. Shortly thereafter, they were informed the suite was in violation of the town's zoning bylaw. "We have given the downstairs family notice to move by the end of September, a very difficult action for us to take, as this has caused them to lose their home,"the couple said in a letter to council. The couple, who rent out the upstairs to another family, said unless the upstairs renters can afford to rent the entire house, they, too, will be out of a home. Because of this, the Kelihers urged council to take action to legalize existing illegal suites. "We all know there are many so-called illegal suites in Qualicum Beach,"they said. "Not only are these units essential to meet the housing demands of a growing community, but also, closing down only those suites that come to the attention of the town - usually through unfounded complaints of disgruntled neighbours - is discriminatory and unjust." In his report, Butler suggested one possibility to alleviate the housing crunch could be to legalize secondary suites in rural areas. He said if council wants to develop a secondary suite policy staff should prepare terms of reference for a comprehensive secondary suite program, to be discussed during the next OCP review. That's when things got hot. Coun. Wendy Maurer pointed out that council had asked for a report from staff on the housing issue a year ago. "I'm confused. Why would we accept terms of reference to say we won't discuss it until the next OCP review? A year ago we said this was something we wanted to discuss now." After moving rejection of the Kelihers' request, Maurer moved a report be completed prior to budget discussions later this year. However, with budget discussions slated to begin within a few weeks, council agreed to accept a report by the November council meeting.
Original Source:
http://www.pqbnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=50&cat=23&id=1066127&more=1
By NEIL HORNER
News Reporter
September 18th, 2007
A bid by a Qualicum Beach homeowner to make a dent in the chronic shortage of affordable housing had his plan shot down by council. In a report to council, director of planning Paul Butler said current policies in the town's official community plan - and the potential to become a precedent - made it inadvisable to allow a secondary suite to be legalized at 129 Hornby Place. Although the home is close to areas designated for multi-family and mixed residential zoning, it is still in the single family zone. The owners, Kevin and Janice Keliher, bought the Hermitage Park-area home in January, complete with a secondary suite downstairs which had previously been rented out. Shortly thereafter, they were informed the suite was in violation of the town's zoning bylaw. "We have given the downstairs family notice to move by the end of September, a very difficult action for us to take, as this has caused them to lose their home,"the couple said in a letter to council. The couple, who rent out the upstairs to another family, said unless the upstairs renters can afford to rent the entire house, they, too, will be out of a home. Because of this, the Kelihers urged council to take action to legalize existing illegal suites. "We all know there are many so-called illegal suites in Qualicum Beach,"they said. "Not only are these units essential to meet the housing demands of a growing community, but also, closing down only those suites that come to the attention of the town - usually through unfounded complaints of disgruntled neighbours - is discriminatory and unjust." In his report, Butler suggested one possibility to alleviate the housing crunch could be to legalize secondary suites in rural areas. He said if council wants to develop a secondary suite policy staff should prepare terms of reference for a comprehensive secondary suite program, to be discussed during the next OCP review. That's when things got hot. Coun. Wendy Maurer pointed out that council had asked for a report from staff on the housing issue a year ago. "I'm confused. Why would we accept terms of reference to say we won't discuss it until the next OCP review? A year ago we said this was something we wanted to discuss now." After moving rejection of the Kelihers' request, Maurer moved a report be completed prior to budget discussions later this year. However, with budget discussions slated to begin within a few weeks, council agreed to accept a report by the November council meeting.
Original Source:
http://www.pqbnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=50&cat=23&id=1066127&more=1
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