OLDS — Town council has approved a package of incentives to encourage secondary suite owners whose suites may not meet the latest zoning, fire and building codes to get them up to snuff.
The incentives, which last for two years, involve waiving of development fees for existing secondary suites, relaxation of parking requirements for such suites and relaxation of square footage requirements for them.
The suggestion to offer the incentives was advanced by James Crozier, the town’s planning and infrastructure manager.
In a presentation to council during its July 10 meeting, Crozier said his department has identified “a large number of illegal secondary suites throughout the municipality.”
He said that’s why staff came up with the incentives package: to encourage suite owners to ensure those suites meet the latest building, zoning and fire codes.
Crozier listed several common safety concerns in these suites: bedroom windows that are too small to get in and out of, lack of proper smoke alarms, lack of fire separation, lack of handrails, and lack of independent heating systems.
“Our feeling is that if a secondary suite has been operating and we haven’t received any complaints about parking, it isn’t an issue and we can just move forward without that requirement, Crozier said.
In the case of the square footage requirement relaxation, Crozier noted that the town’s land use bylaw says secondary suites cannot be larger than 80 square metres and cannot cover more than 40 per cent of total floor area of a dwelling.
“The reality is in a lot of these older homes, the secondary suite takes up the vast majority of the basement and therefore pushes it above that 40 per cent.
“In our minds again, if that suite’s been operating, it doesn’t make sense for the owner to come in and wall off a portion of the basement, just to make that requirement,” he said.
Councillors Wanda Blatz and Dan Daley expressed concern that waiving the $300 fee for suite owners who have not complied is unfair for those who have paid the fee and complied.
"Now we seem to be bending the rules for those people that don't comply. And I'm just a little concerned about that,” Daley said.
“Are we actually helping the problem here any? Or are we just letting some people kind of slip through the cracks?”
Daley agreed that the problems identified in illegal suites are “a huge safety issue” if not rectified.
As a result, he said, “I’m all in favour of enforcing it. I'm just wondering if this is the right fix or not.”
Daley asked if any other municipalities have developed similar policies.
Crozier said many other municipalities are facing the same problem. However, the incentives proposed by the Olds planning and infrastructure department were developed internally.
Coun. Heather Ryan asked what happens if owners of illegal suites don’t comply with requirements to rectify issues identified.
Then an order is given to vacate the suite, Crozier said.
Ryan wondered what the mechanism is to ensure that orders to vacate such suites are followed.
Crozier said the suite is inspected to determine if those orders have been followed.
“It would fall back into a complaint-based process or if the owner chose to tell us. That’s generally how we identify those issues,” he said.
Coun. Harvey Walsh said he had no problem with the proposed incentives, admitting that as a young guy he probably lived in a few suites.
“This has been dealt with for many years, in many municipalities. It's never ever going to go away,” Walsh said.
“Given our very low rental occupancy rate here in town, this is always going to be an issue.”
He figured suite owners who have complied with the regulations will understand that the town is endeavouring to make the community safer.
Ryan said she doesn’t have a problem with offering the incentives.
However, “I just don't think they're going to be effective enough to actually target the ones that are actually abusing this system with regards to creating an at-risk situation for tenants,” she said.
“My concern is, is that I think we're still going to get complaints, regardless of what we do.”
Chief administrative officer Brent Williams said the town is realistic enough to know the incentives won’t likely result in every owner of an illegal secondary suite coming forward to make their suite compliant with the rules.
However, he said the hope is to encourage at least some “stragglers” to come forward and become compliant, especially given the current low vacancy rate in town and the fact that Olds College of Agriculture & Technology is aiming to attract more international students who will need a place to live.
Williams said he’s sure there are many owners of secondary suites who aren’t even aware of what the latest building and fire codes require.
“But should something go horribly wrong -- which we hope it doesn't -- I think it also shows we've been proactive on this to try to encourage people to self-comply,” Williams said.
“Because we'll never be able to enforce our way out of this. It's just too big of a problem in a small college town. So that's in the logic we've put into this, bringing it forward.”
Coun. Darren Wilson supported the incentives plan, saying he too is concerned about the lack of affordable housing in Olds.
“If we just take smaller little bites out of this, (if) we can convince or compel one or two holders of these suites that are non-compliant to come forward as a result of these initiatives and incentives, I'm all for that,” he said.
Mayor Judy Dahl applauded Crozier and his department for developing the incentives, for “having the courage to move forward and create something that’s different when we are all looking for solutions.”
Blatz stressed that she's not against having affordable or attainable housing in town.
“I recognize that there is a shortage,” she said.
And she said she understands that many people may not be aware of the latest building and fire code requirements.
Daley asked if the planning and infrastructure department can give council a report later on, regarding how well the incentive program is working. Crozier said they can.
