A Saskatoon city committee recommends changing zoning bylaws to make building secondary suites and structures near homes more available throughout the city.
According to current city bylaws, “a garden or garage suite may be an accessory use to a one-unit dwelling.”
The city’s municipal planning committee is recommending that garden, garage or secondary suites be allowed on properties with a semi-detached dwelling or a two-unit dwelling.
“It’s just to make them easier for folks to build,” said Christine Gutmann, senior project planner for the city.
The idea is part of an initiative in the city’s action plan to improve “missing middle housing”, filling the gaps between single family homes and mid-rise apartment buildings while improving housing stock and affordability.
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“The housing accelerator fund is about boosting housing supply and accelerating how we develop housing in the city,” Gutmann said. “By removing some of these barriers, what we are doing is making it easier for people to build this type of housing.”
The zoning bylaw amendments would include removing the requirement that the entrance to the secondary suite be attached to the main building, allowing it to be attached to a different building, such as a garage with access to a rear lane.
Under the recommendations, the secondary suites would also be allowed to have more than two bedrooms. The requirement of two off-street parking spaces would be removed.
More of the proposed amendments can be found here on the city’s website.
Gutmann said this is a very “gentle” form of housing density.
“People can put in a secondary suite in their dwelling, which helps them pay off their mortgage, provide a suite for a student or their parent if they need it or even another tenant,” she said.
The recommendations will be discussed at a public hearing on April 24 for council’s consideration.
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