City of Powell River Council has taken first steps to make amendments to the sustainable official community plan (SOCP), plus the zoning and building bylaws, to distinguish modular homes from mobile homes.
At the September 26 special city council, director of planning services Jason Gow said work on the changes started last September, and due to other priorities, was sidelined, but he wanted to make sure this is wrapped up.
Gow said the key is going back to when the SOCP was prepared in 2014. He said there was use of the term modular instead of mobile homes, and it has created some problems for the city in terms of how it regulates those types of buildings.
“The bylaws before you today are, for lack of a better term, housekeeping,” said Gow. “We would like to address the distinction between a mobile home and a modular home.”
Gow said as it relates to the SOCP, a change is needed to modular home, modular home park and modular dwelling references, to instead refer to mobile homes and mobile home parks. He said as it relates to the zoning bylaw, the definitions should be updated for dwellings, manufactured homes and mobile home parks, and then introduce mobile home and modular home definitions. It would also permit use of a modular home as a principal or detached accessory dwelling wherever a dwelling is permitted, and prohibit the use of a mobile home as a dwelling, except where it is provided for in a zone, such as the R4 mobile home park zone, according to Gow.
He said lastly, the building bylaw amendments would have updated definitions for a manufactured home and modular home, and introduce mobile home and mobile home park definitions.
“The goal here is we can see more modular home construction being built throughout our community and any place that permits a dwelling,” said Gow. “Mobiles would still be limited to mobile home parks in the R4 zone.”
Councillor Rob Southcott asked about mobile homes becoming nonconforming, having been allowed to be established as primary residences outside mobile home parks. Gow said they will be permitted to continue operating, as they were constructed legally at a time when these units were allowed.
“The city would never be in a place to go out and make people change things,” said Gow. “However, if somebody was to come in and wanted to modify something that was legally nonconforming, there are some challenges associated with that without some form of variance.”
Councillor George Doubt said council had been talking about this for years. He said it adds an important aspect to new home construction in the city that was previously unavailable.
“It allows people to buy manufactured, modular homes and place them on a foundation on a lot within the city, and it’s a different kind of housing than we’ve been able to build in the city before, because of the definitions between a mobile home and a modular home,” said Doubt. “It allows things to be factory manufactured and moved to the site. There can be savings on labour when there is a labour shortage because there is a building boom going on in town.
“This is a big advancement. We are not doing this in 10 minutes. It’s been thought out by our planning department for a long time.”
Councillor Jim Palm asked if modular homes had to meet the municipally adopted step code for construction.
Gow said they would need to meet the BC Building Code as applied in the city’s building bylaw.
“The step code that currently applies in our community is what would be required,” added Gow.
Council passed a 12-part motion that gives first two readings to the SOCP amendment bylaw, and that it proceeds to public hearing, that the zoning bylaw be given two readings and proceed to public hearing, and that the building bylaw be given three readings.
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