It’s taken years, but it looks like Calgary city council has finally come up with a solution to the secondary suite debate. And it’s about time.
Council voted 10-5 in favour of moving the whole process out of the hands of councillors and into the hands of administrators.
LISTEN: Councillor Ward Sutherland explains why he’s opposed to a development permit process for approving secondary suites
Opponents to an application will still have an opportunity to appeal any decision. However, gone will be the days of councillors sitting through hours of applications and hearing personal stories of why a rezoning is being sought.
Those applicants will now have to meet a set of criteria and pay a fee; something that has been sorely lacking in the past.
WATCH BELOW: Calgary mulls new rules for secondary suites
They’ll make their case through a development permit application. No emotions, just the facts.
This does not mean a blanket rezoning. It will still be done on a case-by-case basis.
When the new rules come in – which won’t be until a new bylaw is passed in a couple of months– there will still be neighbours who will fight the process. But, they’ll now have an opportunity to do that without tying up council.
LISTEN: Councillor Shane Keating explains why he approves moving to a new secondary suite approval process
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