Secondary Suite in Burnaby

[jojuchst]

Does anyone know why Burnaby is one of only few municipalities that does NOT legalize secondary suites?
(in fact I don't know which ones don't)

I've checked and these municipalities all have legal secondary suites: Vancouver, North Van, West Van, Richmond, Surrey, Langley, Delta, Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam.

So it there any reason why Burnaby does NOT? The city is loosing out on extra revenue stream. Property owners also run the risk of having their income suite shut down. Tenants also run the risk of loosing their place of residence. All this could be triggered by a single complaint.

In this age of densification and the need for more affordable rental stock I can't think of any reason why Burnaby has fallen so far behind.

[jojuchst]

Seems like Burnaby City council is finally putting in legal secondary suite bylaws by this summer 2013.
Finally there is a set of parameters potential home owners can follow to budget for their home purchase without running the risk of complaints shutting down their source of rental income.

[jojuchst]

Here is a link to Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC) 's take on 'Secondary Suites: A Call for Safe and Legal Housing'sing'
http://www.tenants.bc.ca/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Secondary%20Suites_A%20Call%20for%20Safe%20and%20Legal%20Housing.pdf

[jojuchst]

Latest updates on this front.
===========================

Public gets say in new secondary suite plan
BY STEFANIA SECCIA, BURNABY NOW APRIL 10, 2013

The public will soon be able to weigh in on Burnaby's proposed program to legalize secondary suites.

On Monday, Burnaby council approved, in principle, the proposal for a secondary suite program as a basis for public consultation and feedback, according to a planning and building report.

After a lengthy public input process, a secondary suite program could become legalized between February and October 2014.

Burnaby has approximately 5,878 unauthorized accessory secondary suites, according to the B.C. Assessment Authority, which "suggests that about one in five of single-family dwellings in the city have a secondary suite."

Currently, the city has 426 in-law suites that are authorized and registered.

As a proposed component, the city's zoning bylaw would change the secondary suite's definition to "an accessory dwelling unit fully contained within a single-family building."

"The proposals seek to manage the legalization of a substantial inventory of existing unauthorized secondary suites in the city, and to allow for the development of new secondary suites in single-family dwellings," the report states. "The proposed program seeks to reflect and support the needs of Burnaby residents by formalizing the contribution that secondary suites provide in terms of more affordable rental housing stock, and to achieve the related safety and other benefits for both property owners and tenants."

The proposals include amendments to zoning bylaws, the application of safety and other provisions of the B.C. Building Code and including secondary suites into the city's permit, licence and fee systems.

"The approach also seeks to help manage the inclusion of complaints, suite size limits, the number of accessory uses, additional parking, payment of utility and other fees, and management of suites where the owner does not reside on the property," the report states.

According to the report, secondary suites in Burnaby are a significant part of the city's affordable rental housing inventory that would otherwise not exist, "at a time when property values and rents in the region have ranked the highest in the country."

The city's current total of non-market housing stock is about 6,175 units.

"In the absence of a renewed commitment by senior levels of government to actively encourage development of new affordable rental accommodation, there will be a continued demand and development of additional secondary suites, whether the city legalizes and regulates their construction or not," the report states.

If and when the secondary suites are approved by council, the city will be required to initiate a program to address the "illegal" or unlawful 5,878 suites that have not received inspection and final approval from the building department that are located in single-family dwellings, according to the report. A secondary suite in a two-family dwelling would continue to be illegal.

"The city's program for enforcing illegal suites will need to be assessed against a number of sometimes competing and conflicting objectives," the report states. "How passive or active the city chooses to be in pursuing secondary suite legalization will also relate to (several) objectives." Objectives such as safety standards, financial equity for utility fees and keeping local neighbourhood impacts to a minimum.

There are 25 individual recommended approaches that could collectively comprise the basis for the city's first secondary suite program.

Since council approved the report, staff is expected to draft a zoning bylaw amendment and and prepare public info displays by the end of May.

In May and June, there will be a series of public open houses at major venues in four parts of the city. Staff will report on the results of the open houses in July.

For an extended version of this story, go to http://www.burnabynow.com
© Copyright (c) Burnaby Now
Read more: http://www.burnabynow.com/Public+gets+s ... z2Q65OtJR8

[WhipMaster]

hmmmm interesting.
how do they make suites legal in older houses that aren't to current code?

[jojuchst]

There is more info and links from this write up.... http://www.burnabynewsleader.com/news/202549711.html

By Burnaby NewsLeader
Published: April 11, 2013 11:00 AM
Updated: April 11, 2013 10:1110 AM
Burnaby council has given approval in principle to a proposed program that would legalize secondary suites in the city.

Currently, secondary suites are not allowed and all it takes for city bylaw inspectors to shut one down is a complaint to city hall from a neighbour.

Mayor Derek Corrigan said at Monday's council meeting that the program was one of the community requests that came out of the process that developed the city's social sustainability strategy.

Corrigan noted that the proposed program, which will now go to a public consultation process, includes additional protections to neighbours such as requiring absentee landlords to get business licences, giving the city the ability to ensure suites are operated properly.

"We're going to try to make it as easy as possible for people to legalize a suite," he said, noting the city will offer inspections to let property owners know the feasibility of legalizing suites and bringing them up to code.

Coun. Sav Dhaliwal called it a "win-win" situation for the city, citizens and homeowners as it will allow owners to ensure their suites are legal and safe and the city will be able to charge owners for the city services used by their tenants. It would also help provide affordable housing in Burnaby, where 40 per cent of residents rent.

According to BC Assessment Authority records, there are currently about 5,878 illegal secondary suites in Burnaby, or a suite in 20 per cent of single-family homes, according to a city staff report. That's in addition to the 426 legal in-law suites which are registered and must be occupied by a family member.

Coun. Paul McDonell said he spoke only days earlier with the former principal of Edmonds Community School who told him one of the things the city could do to assist the area's low-income residents, new immigrants and refugees is to legalize secondary suites.

"We don't want to come down with a hammer, we want to work with the people who have these suites to have them comply to it and make sure we keep as many of these that we can," he said.

The program also provides a way for new homes under construction to include rough-ins for future suites so it's much less expensive to add suites later on, he noted.

In addition to providing affordable housing, the program also sets a minimum size garbage toter for houses with suites. Coun. Anne Kang was supportive of that, noting that she's heard complaints from residents whose toters were filled with garbage from other people's homes.

Coun. Pietro Calendino called the proposed program a "balanced approach" which will help protect tenants of such suites. He cited a recent NewsLeader story in which a single mom and her young daughter faced eviction shortly after moving into a suite when a neighbour filed a complaint about suites in the house.

"The recommendations are full of wisdom and full of history of what's happening around the region," Calendino said. "We're not breaking ground here, every municipality around us has gone this route."

Following public consultation, the proposal is expected to go to a public hearing in September.

An opinion survey is available at http://bit.ly/14Y2B1s and information on the proposed program will be on display with city staff on hand to answer questions at: McGill library lobby, 4595 Albert St., Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tommy Douglas library lobby, 7311 Kingsway, Wednesday, May 8, 2 to 8 p.m.; Bob Prittie library lobby, 6100 Willingdon Ave., Saturday, May 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Cameron Recreation Complex, 9523 Cameron St., Wednesday, May 15, 2 to 8 p.m.

The information display will also be lobby of Burnaby city hall, 4949 Canada Way, from May 6 to 17 between 8 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. (Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Staff will be available at the planning department desk to answer questions.

Info: http://bit.ly/ZGrzS8, secondarysuites@burnaby.ca or 604-294-7400.

wchow@burnabynewsleader.com

twitter.com/WandaChow

[jojuchst]

Whipmaster, this Burnaby Council report should give you some idea as to how the city intends on dealing with existing unauthorized suites.
http://www.burnaby.ca/Assets/city+services/planning/Council+Report+-+Secondary+Suite+Program.pdf

Page 20 and onwards is the interesting bits that you are concerned with.

[WhipMaster]

thanks