One more North Shore municipality may be going coach.

The District of North Vancouver may ease up on the regulations governing coach houses after a bylaw governing detached dwellings breezed through first reading Monday.

Council’s unanimous vote means the coach house bylaw will head to a public hearing, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 28.

“The importance of giving something first reading cannot be understated,” said Coun. Alan Nixon, who added he’s waited a long time to see coach houses get to the “starting line.”

The district should expect between five and 25 coach house applications each year, according to a staff report. Those numbers may be conservative, according to Nixon.

“I know that staff are not predicting that there will be an onslaught of applications, but quite frankly I wouldn’t be surprised because I think there is a pent-up demand for this alternative type of housing,” he said.

Approximately 85 per cent of district residents supported consideration of coach houses, according to a district survey carried out earlier this year.

Under current bylaws, property owners can apply to build a coach house but must go through a “potentially expensive, lengthy and uncertain process,” according to a district staff report.

The new bylaw would expand the definition of secondary suites to include coach houses.

Any homeowner keen to investigate a coach house should be aware of the costs, which could include expenses like an extra sewerage connection, according to Coun. Mike Little.

– See more at: http://www.nsnews.com/news/coach-house-bylaw-gets-first-reading-1.1421835#sthash.mGkpzgVG.dpuf