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From an article in the Oct 10 Calgary Herald
Like many others, Dan Gustafson was greeted by smiling city officials at the open house on financial subsidies to create legal secondary suites.
Like many others, he left shaking his head.
Some were told they`d need the costly, politically precarious step of rezoning their home. Others were told to wall off part of their basement so the suite would fit size regulations.
Gustafson learned there was nothing he could do, except perhaps move. His Ranchlands house sits on too narrow a lot to qualify for a legal suite.
"They make it way too difficult. It`s to the point of ridiculousness," he said.
Instead, Gustafson is considering what the city`s legal-suites program was trying to prevent--an unregulated suite, perhaps with a kitchen that barely skirts rules to keep city inspectors at bay.
"Maybe we`ll just have a fourth bedroom, with a separate entrance . . . you know, we`ll have a `bar` in there, quote."
The city`s $2-million secondary-suites program, offering grants of up to $25,000, is trying to break down the financial barriers to meeting city regulations.
Would-be applicants are instead running into other brick walls.
Of the 20 Calgarians the Herald interviewed at Thursday`s city-run open house at a northeast leisure centre, none said they were confident they`d qualify for the program or be able to create a suite.
They encountered an array of deal-breaking conditions set into the 2008 land-use bylaw that created the option of legalized suites.
While the grant initiative promises to create dozens of illegal suites a year, complaints to the city have led officials to order the shutdown of about 400 annually for the past five years, because of improper zoning or lack of development permit.
Tom Parr, another Marlborough resident, is appealing his closure order in court, arguing that his 1970s house shouldn`t be covered by subsequent bylaws. None of his neighbours complained, but his basement`s tenant did when she wanted to break her lease early.
"It wasn`t a parking issue, because in five years, only one tenant ever had a vehicle. They don`t look at everyone`s individual situation," Parr said of city inspectors.
Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart said the city should spend money on seeking out illegal units, not subsidizing more suites--especially since the housing crunch has cooled.
"In my community in Southwood, people are in an uproar with these illegal suites that are destroying our neighbourhoods," she said. "Take the money, hire the inspectors and get these people out of there."
The full article here http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Base...9060/story.html
Like many others, Dan Gustafson was greeted by smiling city officials at the open house on financial subsidies to create legal secondary suites.
Like many others, he left shaking his head.
Some were told they`d need the costly, politically precarious step of rezoning their home. Others were told to wall off part of their basement so the suite would fit size regulations.
Gustafson learned there was nothing he could do, except perhaps move. His Ranchlands house sits on too narrow a lot to qualify for a legal suite.
"They make it way too difficult. It`s to the point of ridiculousness," he said.
Instead, Gustafson is considering what the city`s legal-suites program was trying to prevent--an unregulated suite, perhaps with a kitchen that barely skirts rules to keep city inspectors at bay.
"Maybe we`ll just have a fourth bedroom, with a separate entrance . . . you know, we`ll have a `bar` in there, quote."
The city`s $2-million secondary-suites program, offering grants of up to $25,000, is trying to break down the financial barriers to meeting city regulations.
Would-be applicants are instead running into other brick walls.
Of the 20 Calgarians the Herald interviewed at Thursday`s city-run open house at a northeast leisure centre, none said they were confident they`d qualify for the program or be able to create a suite.
They encountered an array of deal-breaking conditions set into the 2008 land-use bylaw that created the option of legalized suites.
While the grant initiative promises to create dozens of illegal suites a year, complaints to the city have led officials to order the shutdown of about 400 annually for the past five years, because of improper zoning or lack of development permit.
Tom Parr, another Marlborough resident, is appealing his closure order in court, arguing that his 1970s house shouldn`t be covered by subsequent bylaws. None of his neighbours complained, but his basement`s tenant did when she wanted to break her lease early.
"It wasn`t a parking issue, because in five years, only one tenant ever had a vehicle. They don`t look at everyone`s individual situation," Parr said of city inspectors.
Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart said the city should spend money on seeking out illegal units, not subsidizing more suites--especially since the housing crunch has cooled.
"In my community in Southwood, people are in an uproar with these illegal suites that are destroying our neighbourhoods," she said. "Take the money, hire the inspectors and get these people out of there."
The full article here http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Base...9060/story.html
