Secondary Suites
 

Nevermind.

as long as they meet code, i see no problem with having secondary suites anywhere in the city.

Most of the arguments that I hear against allowing ADUs city-wide is that they will affect and change the character of the community (i.e. parking and density) and people invested in single-family neighbourhoods. With the former, I believe that if ADUs are built in an appropriate fashion, which could be regulated by design guidelines and the like, they won't change the character of what are currently single-family neighbhourhoods as: a) parking problems could easily be mitigated; b) those same parking concerns are prevalent in single-family neighbourhoods without ADUs so they could actually be considered as part the potential character of single-family neighbourhoods; and c) two-family plots are hardly a huge change from single-family plots. As such, change to the character of a neighbourhood is a material concern but in this case I would not give it much weight as the change is not substantial.

With regards to buying into single-family neighbourhoods and ADUs decreasing property values, that is not a material consideration and not something the City needs to take into account during the decision making process. Additionally, who is to say the increase in density would not add value to properties as the area would be able to support additional services.

Just don't allow overnight on-street parking (or better, move to calendar parking) and all parking issues go away.

You wanna own a vehicle? Then you can afford to pay for space to put it, whether it's on your own property or elsewhere.

Incidentally, a lot of the people who will complain about the SFH character changing are not generally worried about the increased density. What they're worried about is having a ton of *renters* in the neighbourhood. Yes, theoretically every house in a SFH neighbourhood could be rented out today, but in practice you don't see more than a handful. Secondary suites by design are occupied by renters for the most part.

Now, as to why that would be an issue... I won't touch this one with a 10-foot pole.

Hi,

I just find basement suites so. damn. depressing.

I know I'm not the only one.

s.

Nevermind.

Touche´

However, I doubt that those sleeping under a bridge are there because there just weren't enough secondary suites in the city.

s.

What is calendar parking?

Also, here in Airdrie, there is a neighborhood called "The Canals" and some of the SFH stock have carriage houses, with the garage parking on the main level and a really nice apartment above. It looks great! And doesn't detract from the character of the neighborhood!

Nevermind.

Hi,

I have seen a similar idea in McKenzie Towne. Briefly looking at the City of Calgary's planning department website I've found that these types of garages are not allowed (2nd floors are not allowed). I hadn't looked any further than a passing glance. If we weren't parking CO2 emitting vehicles in the garage I bet the city would be much more open to the concept.

I've lived in houses that had the main floor as one residence and the second floor as a second residence. Not the same thing, but a good option. Victoria has large 100 year old houses that have been converted to 3 or 4 condominium units, so clearly that option is viable if the house/land is large enough.

s.

I am in MacKenzie Towne and completed my Carriage Suite in June.

The lots needed to be zoned R2, and the maximum allowable floor space is 576ft^2; although you can get some additional space by adding a third story loft (if you can keep it under the height restrictions).

The economics are wonderful. We were able to build ours for right around $100k, and when you consider that to build an equivalent garage (large, heated, great electrical service, running water and sewer) would cost over $30k, the rent (north of $1,100/mos) provides a terrific return on capital.

My understanding is that the city is looking at being more flexible in allowing these types of structures to be built in established neighbourhoods, but I have no insight on how that has translated into the real world.

~gorebug

Hi,

My apologizes for mis-spelling your neighbourhood.

I'm encouraged to hear that the city is still allowing this type of construction. I am thinking of building a garage on my property in the next few years and would love to take advantage of having living space above it. When the time comes I will investigate further.

$1100/mth for a 576sq/ft living space? Or does that include the entire garage?

s.

After owning an investment property for a year with a basement suite, I can easily see why people don't want the types of people that often rent them in their neighbourhood.

[/bitter landlord with two unemployed tenants]

Yeah, as a young'un I was exposed to a lot of landlords and heard all the stories. I wouldn't wish the (landlord) lifestyle on my worst enemy.

Of course, the bad apples really do spoil it for the rest of us. Back in my renting days, I actually had a landlord try to enforce a "no visitors" policy. Because he wanted to seem "tough" he pretty much ran this zero-tolerance - I asked him if my parents were allowed to visit from out of town, or would I have to meet up with them somewhere else just to talk. He never gave me an answer, really, just repeated his policy.

Needless to say we violated that rule on a regular basis but still - just how bad were some of his previous tenants???

I miss-spell the community name about half the time, so no worries.

I actually am getting more than $1,100 right now and it does not include any garage space, although does include all utilities other than telephone. There is uncovered parking available right beside the garage.

While I am sure I will eventually have landlord/tenant troubles, the set up is nice because we (and our tenant) have much more privacy than a basement set-up, yet is close enough for me to have a good idea on what is going on.

I'm guessing you were a younger guy. I will be in future looking for younger tenants, because they actually have a reason to be renting a basement. If someone is 50 and renting a basement, the odds are a lot higher they don't have their life together.

If by "younger" you include "nearly 30". :P

Ironically, this landlord was much harder on the younger tenants - assuming excess partying I guess? When he had older types renting he always figured they were responsible...

Haha, yes I do. Even though I'm around the same age and don't consider myself "younger" I make a nice double standard for tenants.

Young couples are the jackpot. No parties, and at least one of them usually has an interest in keeping the place up.

My brother (a clean cut professional) has always keep a little place in Edmonton and has more often than not been treated like he is a meth mouthed rig pig by landlords.

His last landlord even objected to his girlfriend staying overnight - over occupancy!