Author Topic: RF Rezoning - Housing Action Plan Stakeholders Meeting  (Read 7541 times)

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Offline gypsy

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RF Rezoning - Housing Action Plan Stakeholders Meeting
« on: February 05, 2010, 09:56:00 PM »
Please review these minutes.  It sems that there may be a disconnect between what the Mayor is saying to this group and what came out of the last SASC meeting.

Housing Action Plan Minutes:
NOTES FROM FIRST MEETING OF HOUSING ACTION PLAN STAKEHOLDERS

Six people have been invited to work with the Mayor as a Housing Action Plan Stakeholders Group in looking at the RF zone issues and also, it seems, secondary suites.  The six are Kal Bassi (Surrey Residents Association), Bob Campbell (West Panorama Ridge RA), Rick Hart (Fleetwood CA), Frank Russell (replacement for Rob Langford from Fraser Heights CA), Peter Simpson (Homebuilders’ Association), and Rosemary Zelinka (Surrey ASC).

This group met with the Mayor on Jan 26 for two and half hours and the following points were made, amongst others:

A. Secondary Suites

The Mayor feels that secondary suites and the RF Zone issues are interconnected and that it would help to resolve the suites issue first.  She believes that multiple suites are the main problem and there is generally not a problem with one suite per single family dwelling.  Kal Bassi stated that he agrees with closing more than one suite in a dwelling.

There was a general discussion re the negative impacts of suites on communities, the lack of enforcement, and what to do about the tens of thousands of illegal suites that exist. It was pointed out that the City does have a secondary suite policy but it is not enforced.

Bob noted that WPRRA does not approve of legalizing revenue suites in West Panorama Ridge, but is OK with “family” suites. There may be other communities that feel the same way.

Rosemary commented that secondary suites are a very complex issue and that legalizing them may not completely resolve the problem, as by far the majority of suites remain illegal in cities which have legalized them. This is due to high costs (about $25,000) of bringing suites in existing dwellings up the BC Building Code standards.   A number of cities have carried out statistically valid sample surveys to assess public opinion on legalizing suites, thus avoiding what may be weighted response at public meetings etc.

Surrey ASC’s concern that their involvement may be misinterpreted due to the way it was reported in the draft Housing Action Plan, was described to the Mayor.  It was emphasised that we had only been consulted on issues and had no input to the recommendations of the Plan.  In fact Surrey ASC has not taken a position for or against legalizing suites, and we believe that this is a complex issue that requires a full public consultation process.

Next Actions -  The Mayor will arrange for a survey of municipalities by City staff to ascertain current practices and successes in legalizing suites.

B.  RF Zone Issues
The need for enforcement of bylaw infractions was emphasised by community association members.  The Mayor’s response to Surrey ASC’s resolution that RF Zone stop work orders should be prosecuted now, was that there is no way she is turning anyone out into the street, or requiring anything to be torn out at this stage in the process.

There was a discussion about if design guidelines would help integrate new larger homes into existing neighbourhoods. Community representatives expressed concerns about lack of enforcement of design guidelines and restrictive covenants.

Kal said that all they really wanted re the RF Zone issue is the house size cap to be lifted for very large lots.  Rosemary commented that using a house size cap means in her experience, that the zoning system is not working very well.  She suggested we investigate a new zone for very large lots which could allow a very gradually increasing house size and appropriate setbacks, lot coverage etc. Such lots and potential floor space increases would have to be investigated for neighbourhood compatibility.

Next Action -
The Mayor will arrange for a set of maps showing the larger RF lots by size increments, so that possibilities for a new zone and other options can be explored. 

3.  General

The Mayor confirmed that members of the group are free to inform and consult with the organizations they represent, as they wish.

When questioned regarding further public consultation on these topics, the Mayor said it would depend on what came out of this.
 
The group will meet again after the Olympics.