![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.chrisbrownrealestate.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/carriage-houses.jpg\")
<\/p>\nJeremy Shepherd \/ North Shore News<\/p>\n
Published February 28, 2017.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You\u2019re once, twice, three times more likely to find a residence on a single-family lot following the City of North Vancouver\u2019s decision Monday.<\/p>\n
But while council was unanimous in deciding to allow a home, secondary suite and a coach house on every single-family lot in the city, there was a little dissension on the move to require two parking spots.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have a coach house, a house, and a suite, to me that\u2019s three vehicles probably 90 per cent of the time,\u201d said Coun. Holly Back.<\/p>\n
Coun. Don Bell agreed, noting he\u2019d prefer the city mandate three spaces per lot.<\/p>\n
However, in approving 55 coach houses, the city hasn\u2019t heard any parking concerns, according to community development planner Wendy Tse. She added that a third parking spot could eat up space needed for a coach house.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe we can look at housing people as a priority as opposed to housing our cars,\u201d said Mayor Darrell Mussatto.<\/p>\n
The mayor shared an anecdote about a driver stealing his parking spot, to which his friends replied: \u201cSince when did you buy the street \u2026 Mr. Mayor?\u201d<\/p>\n
While there may be creative ways to allow for more parking, such as parallel parking in laneways, Mussatto emphasized the importance of creating new housing options. \u201cWe know we can\u2019t sprawl \u2026 we have to contain our growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bylaw earned strong support from Alex Boston, who addressed council and called it a \u201cdemographic imperative\u201d triggered by \u201cmassive depopulation\u201d in single-family neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n
Relying on 2011 data from Statistics Canada, Boston made the case that while Canada is largely building the same types of housing as 40 years ago, an increase of empty-nesters has created hollowed-out neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n
While half of households in the 1950s and \u201860s included at least three residents, the majority of single-family homes currently accommodate one or two occupants, according to Boston.<\/p>\n
Besides creating more affordable housing, the new bylaw will be a boon to the atmosphere, according to Boston, a former policy analyst for the David Suzuki Foundation.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single household you create here reduces the demand in greenfield areas in Surrey and Pitt Meadows,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s previous policy allowed either a coach house or a secondary suite, but not both.<\/p>\n
The uniformity of the city-wide application should prevent major spikes in property value, according to Tse.<\/p>\n
Coun. Craig Keating noted that if his own children buy a house, \u201cit won\u2019t be in this neighbourhood and it probably won\u2019t be in the Lower Mainland.\u201d<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s vacancy rate is 0.3 per cent \u2013 one of the lowest in Metro Vancouver, according to city staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a city of renters,\u201d said Don Peters, chairman of the Community Housing Action Committee. \u201cYet there are few if any vacancies month after month.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peters lauded the policy, which he said was necessary to address a bedroom shortfall, the high costs of homeownership and government inaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur senior governments, who have more resources than you do, seem to have abandoned us for far too long,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
City council clashed on the issue in 2014, with Couns. Linda Buchanan and Keating as well as Mayor Mussatto voting against the proposed official community plan because it prohibited coach houses and secondary suites. Council approved a new OCP in 2015.<\/p>\n
While he supported the bylaw, Coun. Rod Clark noted the city was essentially allowing triplexes on each lot. \u201cWe\u2019ve created a very dense metropolis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coun. Pam Bookham suggested council introduce policies to ensure homeowners have the capacity to park their cars on their property. \u201cThey can\u2019t say that they\u2019re meeting their parking requirement if they\u2019ve filled their garage with stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new bylaw allows the homeowner to reside in whichever dwelling they choose, whereas the previous policy specified the owner occupy the main house.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like the multi-generational living,\u201d Back said. \u201cI\u2019m not sure that my children will have me, but we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Secondary suites and coach houses can be rented or reserved for family use, but not sold or stratified.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n