Newsletter – August 31, 2022: What is Oak Bay Council’s Secondary Suite Plan?
All levels of Government’s answer to affordable housing and rents is “business as usual” development. This has been proven to be a false premise. However, a primary cause of the housing crisis has been land and rental property speculation from outside of Canada. The Federal Government finally recognized this early this year and although committed to corrective action, they have yet to announce any change.
Oak Bay Council is playing along. The majority of Council has made it clear that, in the last two months of their term, they intend to legalize multi-tenant rental suites in any single-family home in any neighbourhood in Oak Bay.
Council has somehow missed that there is still an active Covid Pandemic in Canada that is not going away anytime soon. Adding more renters in basements of singe-family homes is not a recommended public health practice at this time (see link Appendix #1- Canada Health July 5, 2022 COVID-19: Guidance on indoor ventilation during the pandemic.
What is also not clear is how Council thinks the next Council is going to deal with the unwanted impacts that all of the new home-based rental businesses will produce. Oak Bay has only one Bylaw Officer. Some Council members have misinformed residents by stating that basement suites will generate extra revenue and, as usual, have provided no evidence to support their claim. Secondary suites provide no additional property taxes.
Every other community that has enacted suite legislation has seen a significant increase in illegal suites and very few registrations. Their streets are now parking lots, and their taxes, commuter traffic, demolitions, infrastructure costs and neighbour problems have all increased. What is Council’s reason for believing this will not happen in Oak Bay unless, of course, this is not their concern.
Oak Bay Council is playing with fire by moving forward with legalizing multiple-tenant rental suites in any single-family neighbourhood. Why would they open up Oak Bay to home-based rental businesses and the Airbnb problems that are plaguing other communities?
Is Council so out of touch that they think that imposing a few conditions will be effective, when a number of other communities have each spent over a million dollars in enforcement costs to attempt to stem the tide of unregulated suites?
It would be nice if Council would explain where the public interest plays into this. After all, the majority of Oak Bay residents with no suite rental income will bear the cost, downside and unwanted impacts.
Oak Bay Watch Perspective
Densifying single-family neighbourhoods will not lead to affordable housing and will not guarantee diversity. However, it will provide revenue for a limited number of suite owners, non-resident investors and developers. It will also provide unwanted impacts and create financial problems for the majority of Oak Bay residents.
Many Oak Bay residents sacrificed and moved to Oak Bay to get away from congestion. Congestion isn’t vibrancy no matter how hard the Development and Investment Industries and some Council members, try to convince residents otherwise.
Currently, Oak Bay has a 2-renter, single-family home limit and is carrying 700 suites. Almost two-fifths of the District is multi-dwelling areas with transition zones (remember when this was a standard) however, all this is not good enough for this Council. They are about to make these zoning changes without explaining how this will protect Oak Bay’s unique character.
If you haven’t already done so, please read the August 26, 2022 Oak Bay News letter to the editor page A6 – online oakbaynews.com e-editions. The writer clearly explains how conflicting Council’s densification initiative objectives are.
Unless residents happened to listen to the July 18, Special Council meeting webcast on July 20, 2022 (the original webcast had sound issues), they would not be aware of the Council’s secondary suite zoning conditions that are being moved forward to a Public Meeting on September 8. 2022
The secondary suite zoning changes and conditions that Council decided on basically applied the whole zoning structure, nine yards: The approved changes include:
Note: The Provincial Secondary Suite Guidelines state: “Developing and implementing a secondary suite program can be costly, particularly in terms of staff time.” Council provided no cost estimates for a registration program or all the additional enforcement that will be required.
Given this is the most dramatic Oak Bay zoning change for decades, it was anticipated the District would have provided this information by now. It was also anticipated that somewhere in the countless hours Council and staff have considered their densification initiatives (with no public open-meeting input) Council would have provided a secondary suite cost benefit analysis and a feasible enforcement plan. However. as the saying goes, “They that expect nothing shall not be disappointed.”
Please attend the September 8, Secondary Suite Zoning Changes Public Meeting or write to Council with your concerns.
----------------------------------------------
“Nothing is inevitable if you are paying attention” Oak Bay Watch
Oak Bay Watch is a volunteer community association and its members have a variety of professional backgrounds in both the public and private sector.
*******Please help us continue to provide you with information about Community concerns and Council decisions and actions. Oak Bay Watch members also help community groups with their specific development concerns. Donate to Oak Bay Watch - even $5 or $10 dollars provides expenses for door- to- door handouts and helps us maintain our website. Oak Bay Watch is committed to ensuring the Community gets the full range of information on budget, governance and all key development issues – a well-informed opinion cannot be made without this.
(Please use Donate Button at bottom of oakbaywatch.com Home Page)
Keep informed and sign up for our newsletter – bottom of Newsletter Menu Item.
Appendix #1
Canada Health July 5, 2022 COVID-19: Guidance on indoor ventilation during the pandemic. (see link for full document below)
Excerpt:
Preamble
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has developed this guide to inform Canadians about how indoor ventilation, in combination with other recommended public health measures, can reduce the spread of COVID-19. This guide also provides practical tips on how to improve indoor air, ventilation and filtration to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. While this guidance is intended to be used generally across indoor environments, its application will depend on:
Canadian public health guidance related to COVID-19 has evolved as our understanding of COVID-19 improves. We continually review the evidence as it's produced and work with our partners across the country and around the world. This ensures that we integrate the most up to date and highest quality information into our guidance.
Key messages
The virus causing COVID-19 is known to spread through droplets and aerosols, which represent a risk particularly to people who are in:
Full Document Link
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/guidance-documents/guide-indoor-ventilation-covid-19-pandemic.html
All levels of Government’s answer to affordable housing and rents is “business as usual” development. This has been proven to be a false premise. However, a primary cause of the housing crisis has been land and rental property speculation from outside of Canada. The Federal Government finally recognized this early this year and although committed to corrective action, they have yet to announce any change.
Oak Bay Council is playing along. The majority of Council has made it clear that, in the last two months of their term, they intend to legalize multi-tenant rental suites in any single-family home in any neighbourhood in Oak Bay.
Council has somehow missed that there is still an active Covid Pandemic in Canada that is not going away anytime soon. Adding more renters in basements of singe-family homes is not a recommended public health practice at this time (see link Appendix #1- Canada Health July 5, 2022 COVID-19: Guidance on indoor ventilation during the pandemic.
What is also not clear is how Council thinks the next Council is going to deal with the unwanted impacts that all of the new home-based rental businesses will produce. Oak Bay has only one Bylaw Officer. Some Council members have misinformed residents by stating that basement suites will generate extra revenue and, as usual, have provided no evidence to support their claim. Secondary suites provide no additional property taxes.
Every other community that has enacted suite legislation has seen a significant increase in illegal suites and very few registrations. Their streets are now parking lots, and their taxes, commuter traffic, demolitions, infrastructure costs and neighbour problems have all increased. What is Council’s reason for believing this will not happen in Oak Bay unless, of course, this is not their concern.
Oak Bay Council is playing with fire by moving forward with legalizing multiple-tenant rental suites in any single-family neighbourhood. Why would they open up Oak Bay to home-based rental businesses and the Airbnb problems that are plaguing other communities?
Is Council so out of touch that they think that imposing a few conditions will be effective, when a number of other communities have each spent over a million dollars in enforcement costs to attempt to stem the tide of unregulated suites?
It would be nice if Council would explain where the public interest plays into this. After all, the majority of Oak Bay residents with no suite rental income will bear the cost, downside and unwanted impacts.
Oak Bay Watch Perspective
Densifying single-family neighbourhoods will not lead to affordable housing and will not guarantee diversity. However, it will provide revenue for a limited number of suite owners, non-resident investors and developers. It will also provide unwanted impacts and create financial problems for the majority of Oak Bay residents.
Many Oak Bay residents sacrificed and moved to Oak Bay to get away from congestion. Congestion isn’t vibrancy no matter how hard the Development and Investment Industries and some Council members, try to convince residents otherwise.
Currently, Oak Bay has a 2-renter, single-family home limit and is carrying 700 suites. Almost two-fifths of the District is multi-dwelling areas with transition zones (remember when this was a standard) however, all this is not good enough for this Council. They are about to make these zoning changes without explaining how this will protect Oak Bay’s unique character.
If you haven’t already done so, please read the August 26, 2022 Oak Bay News letter to the editor page A6 – online oakbaynews.com e-editions. The writer clearly explains how conflicting Council’s densification initiative objectives are.
Unless residents happened to listen to the July 18, Special Council meeting webcast on July 20, 2022 (the original webcast had sound issues), they would not be aware of the Council’s secondary suite zoning conditions that are being moved forward to a Public Meeting on September 8. 2022
The secondary suite zoning changes and conditions that Council decided on basically applied the whole zoning structure, nine yards: The approved changes include:
- An expanded floor area for a secondary suite
- No minimum lot size for a secondary suite,
- No restricted non-suite neighbourhoods.
- Every residential lot will be upzoned to allow a suite.
- Six renters will be permitted – to ensure even more occupants.
- Exemptions are allowed for an off-street parking spot.
- A Secondary Suite Tracking System – No explanation of cost or why this has not been implemented previously.
- A Registration Program.
Note: The Provincial Secondary Suite Guidelines state: “Developing and implementing a secondary suite program can be costly, particularly in terms of staff time.” Council provided no cost estimates for a registration program or all the additional enforcement that will be required.
Given this is the most dramatic Oak Bay zoning change for decades, it was anticipated the District would have provided this information by now. It was also anticipated that somewhere in the countless hours Council and staff have considered their densification initiatives (with no public open-meeting input) Council would have provided a secondary suite cost benefit analysis and a feasible enforcement plan. However. as the saying goes, “They that expect nothing shall not be disappointed.”
Please attend the September 8, Secondary Suite Zoning Changes Public Meeting or write to Council with your concerns.
----------------------------------------------
“Nothing is inevitable if you are paying attention” Oak Bay Watch
Oak Bay Watch is a volunteer community association and its members have a variety of professional backgrounds in both the public and private sector.
*******Please help us continue to provide you with information about Community concerns and Council decisions and actions. Oak Bay Watch members also help community groups with their specific development concerns. Donate to Oak Bay Watch - even $5 or $10 dollars provides expenses for door- to- door handouts and helps us maintain our website. Oak Bay Watch is committed to ensuring the Community gets the full range of information on budget, governance and all key development issues – a well-informed opinion cannot be made without this.
(Please use Donate Button at bottom of oakbaywatch.com Home Page)
Keep informed and sign up for our newsletter – bottom of Newsletter Menu Item.
Appendix #1
Canada Health July 5, 2022 COVID-19: Guidance on indoor ventilation during the pandemic. (see link for full document below)
Excerpt:
Preamble
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has developed this guide to inform Canadians about how indoor ventilation, in combination with other recommended public health measures, can reduce the spread of COVID-19. This guide also provides practical tips on how to improve indoor air, ventilation and filtration to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. While this guidance is intended to be used generally across indoor environments, its application will depend on:
- occupancy
- the type of building
- the type of activity undertaken in the indoor setting
Canadian public health guidance related to COVID-19 has evolved as our understanding of COVID-19 improves. We continually review the evidence as it's produced and work with our partners across the country and around the world. This ensures that we integrate the most up to date and highest quality information into our guidance.
Key messages
The virus causing COVID-19 is known to spread through droplets and aerosols, which represent a risk particularly to people who are in:
- enclosed spaces
- indoor situations where people are in close proximity
Full Document Link
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/guidance-documents/guide-indoor-ventilation-covid-19-pandemic.html