Upcoming town hall planned for alternative housing options

The building of carriage houses and secondary

suites are up for discussion in Keremeos.

The building of carriage houses and secondary

suites are up for discussion.

A town hall meeting to discuss the two different

issues is expected to occur sometime in the first

quarter of 2016.

The issue of building alternative dwellings was

recently raised at the village office when a resident

inquired about building a lane way house on their

property. A lane way house is a form of housing

built on pre-existing lots usually located in a backyard

or onto back lane.

Current zoning does not allow for a lane way

house to be built on that specific property as it is

zoned single family residential.

But after reviewing zoning and permitted uses

staff decided to seek direction from council about

further investigating other alternative housing

options.

Staff recommended not to uphold current permitted

uses and not allow lane way houses as there is

a general absence of lane ways in residential zones.

But did note that the introduction of carriage

houses would largely cater to any demand for such

housing, the report stated.

Currently carriage houses, which are generally

developed above a garage, are not permitted under

zoning bylaws anywhere in Keremeos.

Secondary suites are allowed in agricultural and

country residential zones.

Christopher Garrish contract planner for the village

of Keremeos explained the two housing options

could be used in a broader scale in the village and

offer effective ways to address affordable and rental

housing objectives within a community.

“Secondary suites and carriage houses are a way

to increase density,” he said.

Temporary Use Permits will also be discussed at

the town hall meeting.

Temporary Use Permits are a flexible alternative

to rezoning as they can be used to allow interim uses

on a probationary period allowing the village and

the surrounding neighbourhood an opportunity to

evaluate the impacts of the use on the surrounding

properties.

The Review will provide more details about the

upcoming town hall as they become available.

Keremeos Review