After turning down two backyard suite applications in a month, Red Deer's municipal planning commission is questioning whether land use regulations need to be tweaked.
This week, the planning commission narrowly rejected by a 4-4 vote a proposal for a two-bedroom backyard suite to be built as part of a new garage in Parkvale.
To go ahead, the homeowner needed to get approval to build a backyard suite nearly double the size allowed in a section of the Land Use Bylaw just updated last summer.
Under existing rules, a backyard suite must be a maximum 75 per cent of the size of the principle dwelling's footprint. Since the principle dwelling was a small older-style home of just under 800-square-feet, not uncommon in Parkvale, the maximum size of a backyard suite would be limited to just under 600 square feet. The property owner wanted to build a 1,162-square foot suite.
The city development officer recommended approving the variance, saying it meets goals laid out in the city's Municipal Development Plan, which encourages infill in older neighbourhoods featuring a mix of housing types and efficient use of land as part of a move towards "gentle density."
The larger floor plan is "justified to support livability, modern lifestyle needs, and amenities, particularly in Red Deer's four-season climate," says a planning report.
While planners said the proposed garage and backyard suite would be a good fit in the neighbourhood, many living nearby did not agree.
The leading reservation was the development did not fit Parkvale's aesthetic, followed by concerns approval could lead to future development of the house on site, increased traffic, the addition was too tall and the lot too narrow to accommodate it. Some argued approval would amount to building a second home on the lot.
The planning commission rejected the proposal on the grounds the requested variance was excessive, the addition was not compatible with existing developments and "would materially interfere with the use and enjoyment of neighbouring parcels of land, due to its size and height, given the historic character of the neighbourhood"
A possible option is tying the size of the suite to the size of the lot, rather than the principle dwelling, which can be very small in older neighbourhoods.
