West Kelowna gives third reading to secondary suites bylaw amendments
Owner occupancy will likely no longer be required for the operation of secondary suites in the District of West Kelowna.
Council gave third reading to several secondary suites bylaw amendments at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The vote was supposed to take place last month; however, it was postponed due to the absence of Coun. David Knowles.
Coun. Carol Zanon repeated her opposition to getting rid of the district’s owner occupancy requirement Tuesday.
“I really don’t know why we are removing the owner occupancy,” said Zanon.
“When you start creating, essentially, duplexes in single house neighbourhoods, you’re creating problems we haven’t really thought about...there are no extra parking spots for company, there are no community stores, bus services aren’t quite set up to handle extra accommodators.”
Mayor Doug Findlater said the owner occupancy requirement was “out of step” with other nearby municipalities. He added the rule might not even hold up if challenged in court.
Along with Zanon, Councillors Rick de Jong and Bryden Winsby also voted against the amendments. The two councillors said they didn’t agree with the requirement to obtain a business licence for the operation of a secondary suite.
“I think it’s a little bit of overkill,” said Winsby.
“In terms of tracking and keeping tabs on who has a secondary suite, I think there are ways to do that other than simply issuing licenses.”
Council voted four to three in favour of the amendments with de Jong, Winsby and Zanon opposed.
wpaterson@kelownacapnews.com
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