No public hearing needed for infill housing in Okanagan, Kamloops
Most single-family properties in communities of 5,000 or more from Kamloops to Osoyoos could get three storeys of housing built on them with no public input.
If they are within 400 metres of a “prescribed bus stop” that could be a six-plex with no off-street parking required.
That’s how new provincial infill housing rules are being explained in a staff report going to Kelowna city council on Monday, Jan. 15.
Municipalities will have to change their zoning bylaws so that any residential property larger than 280 square metres (0.069 acres) has to allow for the new infill housing.
A report on the provincial rule changes that went to Vernon city council earlier this week explained that communities will not be allowed to hold public hearings if a proposed development complies with the provincial rules.
Councils can choose to hold public hearings only where there are mixed use developments that are less than 50% residential or the Official Community Plan has to be amended.
The new provincial housing regulations allow for up to four units reaching three storeys to be built on the 0.069-acre or larger lots, as long as they have water and sewer service and the housing doesn’t cover more than 40% of the property.
The infill could be anything from a basement suite up to a four-plex.
One parking spot is required for each unit unless the property is within 800 metres of a transit stop, in which case only half a parking spot is needed for each unit.
Even the smallest lots in Kelowna neighbourhoods like the North End or Kettle Valley are almost twice the minimum required size.
For the same-sized properties within 400 metres of a “prescribed bus stop,” three-storey six-plexes are allowed if they cover 60% or less of the lot. In those cases, the market can decide whether any off-street parking is required.
The City of Kelowna report says there are currently only two such prescribed bus stops in the city, in Rutland and at Okanagan College. Kelowna General Hospital and Orchard Park will be added as of June 30.
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