Secondary Suites Become Discretionary in R-1, R-C1, and R-C1L Districts

Calgary has been behind most of the country in streamlining the process for the approval of basement suites and backyard suites in single-family districts. But, as of yesterday, this has changed. City Council voted 9-6 in favour of making suites a discretionary use in the R-1, R-C1 and R-C1L districts. This means that people who own a property with this designation will no longer require a land use redesignation, or the associated public hearing, to apply to build a suite. The process will be an administrative one, meaning that people will simply need to apply for a development permit.

We're particularly excited to be able to help provide laneway houses—another term for backyard suites—to the many Calgarians who want them but were daunted by the previous onerous process.

Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes yes! Thanks to council for having the courage to stand up for the right of all citizens to have a safe and decent place to live. https://t.co/qhJ3RILEka

— Naheed Nenshi (@nenshi) March 13, 2018

Secondary Suite Permit Exemption

From September 1, 2015 to March 3, 2017, the City of Calgary is offering a Development Permit (DP) exemption for Secondary Suites. This means that if your property is permitted to have a Secondary Suite, you can go directly to the Building Permit stage and avoid the fees and delay associated with a DP application.

The City has a web page for suites, but at the time of this post, the page is misleading. It indicates that Backyard Suites are considered Secondary Suites, but this is not the case. Secondary Suites must meet the following (and other) conditions:

• contain two or more rooms used or designed to be used as a residence by one or more persons,
• contain a kitchen, living, sleeping and sanitary facilities,
• is self-contained and located within a Dwelling Unit, and
• is secondary to the main residential use on the parcel.

Therefore, Secondary Suites are only those suites that are within a Dwelling Unit, or house, on a property. Backyard Suites, such as those above a garage, are considered discretionary and will still require a Development Permit. That said, the fee for this permit is also waived.

Properties that are eligible for permitted Secondary Suites are those that are zoned R-1s, R-C1s, R-C1Ls, R-2, or R-C2 and meet the respective minimum parcel width, depth and area requirements. For example, R-1s properties must be 15m wide, 30m deep, and have a minimum area of 330m2, whereas R-C2 properties must be 9m wide, but have no depth or area restrictions.

If your property needs to be redesignated to one of these districts to allow for a Secondary Suite (such as from R-C1 to R-C1s), the City is also waiving the fee for that application as well!

You can read more on the City's blog.

Secondary Suites in Four Inner-city Wards

Calgary's City Council has asked City administration to prepare a Land Use Bylaw amendment that will allow homeowners and developers to apply for secondary suites in R-1, R-C1, and R-C1L in Calgary's four inner city wards without having to apply for a land use redesignation. This is an exciting possibility, though it still needs to be passed by a Council that has been reluctant to simplify this process.

You can find out more at the Calgary City News Blog post here:  Proposed Bylaw changes may allow secondary suites in four inner-city wards

Secondary Suite Silver Lining

We think that most Calgarians are disappointed by yesterday's news that Secondary Suites won't soon be permitted (or even discretionary) in Calgary's R-C1 districts (nor R-1, R-C1L districts). We won't belabour the situation by pointing out how unique our city is in disallowing this modest form of housing.

Rather, we want to remind homeowners, builders, and developers that accessory suites are currently possible in the R-C2 district and many others! In fact, in the ubiquitous R-C2 district, suites within a dwelling unit, such as basement suites, are permitted on all lots that are 29 1/2 feet (9m) or wider.

As well, backyard suites—such as suites above garages—are discretionary on lots that are 42 1/2 feet (13m) in width or wider, at at least 98 1/2 feet (30m) deep, and at least 4305 square feet (400 square metres) in area. Most of Calgary's inner city lots are 50 feet wide and easily accommodate a backyard suite. The fact that they are discretionary simply means that a development permit is required prior to applying for a building permit.

From Council Agenda December 15th, 2014 at agendaminutes.calgary.ca

Currently, most of our clients are building accessory suites above triple garages. This size of garage easily accommodates two parking stalls for the main house, plus one for the suite. As well, triple garages provide a large enough footprint to allow for a good-sized two bedroom suite above the garage.

Even though yesterday's secondary suite news might be bad, it doesn't necessarily mean that you need to put off your suite plans. If you have an R-C2 lot, you're good to go. If you have questions, please feel free to give us a call.