SHOULD every duplex in the City of North Vancouver be able to house a secondary suite as well?
That is a question council wrestled with Monday night but stopped short of answering.
The city is contemplating allowing for smaller self-contained apartments within duplex units similar to how they are allowed in single-family residences.
Council held a public hearing on the matter Monday night, drawing out several frustrated residents, most of whom agreed on allowing secondary suites in duplexes, but only if the city found a way to do it right.
The city has had a moratorium on enforcing its bylaws against illegal secondary suites in hopes that the owners will go out of their way to bring them up to code and register them with the city. The city is entertaining allowing secondary suites in owner-occupied duplexes, but some residents have other concerns. A glut of investment properties featuring illegally-added suites and building code violations already exists in the city, according to some residents. Those were the duplexes annoyed homeowners came to the meeting to air concerns over.
In order to meet the B.C. Building Code's requirements, suites must be separated by a firewall made entirely of non-combustible material,
including the inner wall or framing, or the building must have a sprinkler system installed. Each additional unit would be required to have at least one on-site parking space to prevent further crowding of the streets
Council agreed to defer a vote on the policy change until all seven elected members were present, which is not expected for two weeks.
