The six-unit housing complex at 331 Seymour Street remains uninhabited after a fire on Saturday night.
Image Credit: InfoTel Multimedia
(JESSICA WALLACE / iNFOnews.ca)
January 14, 2014 - 3:51 PM
TWO SINGLE FAMILY HOMES WITH SINGLE SUITES PLANNED
KAMLOOPS — A non-conforming five-plex destroyed by fire in March 2013 has been taken down and now the owners are hoping to build two single family homes on the lots to better fit in with the neighbourhood.
The owner is looking to buy a small surplus lot from the city that has a municipal sewer line on the property to help with the project. The three lots will be combined and then subdivided into two lots with one house on each.
Even with the change the lots will not be large enough to meet the minimum size required for subdivision and the owner is hoping to have the properties rezoned to reduce the minimum lot size required.
The city does not normally support suites on lots this small because typically there is not enough street frontage to accommodate three parking stalls and front landscaping. In this case however, the lot dimensions will enable these requirements to be met. It also provides conforming infill, reduces the number of dwellings which improves the livability, is within walking distance to downtown and the old lots on the street are generally below the standard size.
Worried about the modern design plans, Coun. Tina Lange said she'd rather see the city push for a heritage look to keep with the neighbourhood and Development Director Marvin Kwiatkowski says at first he agreed.
“When I drove down and looked at the homes all around, it does fit in quite well,” he said, noting the home immediately south as well as some nearby neighbours are more modern designs.
An accessory building and garden suite also exist on the lots were not affected by the fire but will be removed to facilitate the two new houses.
The public will now get their say at a public hearing.
To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca, call (250)819-3723 or tweet @JennStahn.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014