Vaughan poised to legalize secondary suites by fall 2017

Critics say proposed official plan policies, bylaw fall short of expectations by excluding suites in detached garages and ancillary buildings

Yorkregionc.om
Feb. 14, 2017
By Adam Martin-Robbins

Vaughan has spent years inching toward legalizing secondary suites to provide much-needed safe and affordable housing in a community where a new townhome costs nearly $1 million, now the municipality is poised to take a giant leap forward.

But some residents feel the city’s proposed plan comes up short.

“It’s been a long time coming and it’s long overdue,” said Anna Bortolus, a Kleinburg resident who was among a trio that began advocating eight years ago for the city to implement a strategy aimed at providing access to safe, legal secondary suites.

“I think that they have a fairly good framework that they proposed.”

Her comments come after councillors gave the nod to proposed new official plan policies, zoning standards and an implementation strategy at the Feb. 7 committee of the whole meeting that paves the way for legalization to occur this fall.

The city plans to allow one secondary suite per home within townhouses, semi-detached and detached houses throughout Vaughan, except in a small pocket of Woodbridge near the Humber River that is prone to flooding, provided they meet certain requirements.

Those requirements include:

• There can only be one secondary suite per dwelling
• There must be parking for at least three vehicles
• The home must have at least a nine-metre wide frontage
• The apartment must have a separate entrance at the side or back of the house or from a common indoor vestibule
• Basement apartments will not be allowed in homes with boarders, a home business, a daycare or private tutoring, a bed and breakfast and correctional or crisis care group home
• The basement apartment must comply with the building code, fire code and all city bylaws.

The plan, for now, is to not allow secondary suites in detached garages or other ancillary buildings.

City staff say few GTA municipalities allow these types of units and there are challenges in retrofitting such structures to meet building code requirements.

There is also potential for significant impacts on infrastructure and the neighbourhood’s character, staff say. However, the city may consider allowing these types of secondary suites in the future after a more detailed review.

"I'm very happy that we're moving on this. I think that residents will embrace the legalization of secondary suites," Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua said. "It really comes down to providing affordable housing options for individuals. It's about safety as well as the ability for us to continue to build a city in a way that allows for the realization of people's full potential."

But not everyone thinks the city is taking the right approach.

Joel Ginsberg said if he were grading the proposed secondary suites bylaw he’d give it a D.

“They’re going to permit dingy, dark basement apartments and the legalization of all the illegal apartments and that’s about all they’re going to do,” Ginsberg, a longtime Thornhill resident, said.

He argues the city should allow secondary suites in ancillary buildings in order to provide “appropriate and accessible” housing for seniors, people with disabilities and families.

“It has to not simply be for single people who are more readily willing to live in basements because they’re cheap accommodation,” Ginsberg said. “Where are the family secondary suites? Where are the seniors’ secondary suites? This bylaw does nothing for them.”

Bevilacqua, on the other hand, sees the proposed bylaw as a "step in the right direction."

"When you consider the number of months and years that I've been pushing this file, I'm glad that we've seen movement on it," he said.

Arguably, the biggest hurdle for the city will be convincing owners of the thousands of basement apartments that already exist in Vaughan to register them so officials can ensure they comply with the new policies and regulations as well as meet the building and fire codes.

To address this challenge, the city plans on conducting a “thorough” education campaign aimed at landlords, builders, homeowners and tenants about the importance of compliance as well as the safety implications and the benefits of obtaining permits and inspections.

Should landlords not comply, the city says it may pursue “enforcement actions.”

But Bortolus says there may be a better approach.

Rather than make those with basement apartments go through the building permit process, which can be costly and onerous, Bortolus says the city should consider a simpler, more streamlined process - at least initially.

She has also suggested initiating programs aimed at encouraging people to register their basement apartments such as waiving fees or offering free fire inspections, for a limited time.

“What incentive does anybody have to come forward? Because the downside is potentially a lot of loss of income and certainly a quite administratively burdensome process,” Bortolus said. “I don’t think just talking about safety is enough.”

Council still has to approve the proposed official plan policies, zoning standards and an implementation strategy.