qathet Regional District (qRD) directors will be giving consideration to Nootka Street zoning bylaw amendments to allow accessory dwellings.
At the April 8 regional board meeting, directors considered amendments that would allow one accessory dwelling unit to be permitted in the Nootka Street zone, and to rezone the property located at 7-3965 Yaroshuk Road to permit an existing accessory dwelling unit that measures 1,200 square feet.
The board first considered Nootka Street zoning amendment bylaw 321.3, 2025. Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said he has heard some feedback and talked to other elected officials, and if the regional district moves forward with the recommendation to have it go for first and second reading, the regional board will hear back from the public.
“I’m thinking of a previous staff report where we talked about being able to use floor area ratio as part of the zoning bylaw,” said Gisborne. “Would we need to put that in the draft bylaw before it goes to the public, or if the public wants something like that, are we able to do that amendment at a later date?”
General manager of planning services Laura Roddan said the bylaw did not have anything in it about floor area ratio. She said consultations could be held with the neighbourhood about changes in a general way, but the bylaw was focused on allowing accessory dwelling units on every parcel.
Gisborne said he had heard from some residents about whether an accessory dwelling unit potentially could provide for two massive homes on a property.
“I understand that as long as one is bigger than the other one, the answer to that question is yes,” said Gisborne. “We have another application where we put a restriction on the total floor area of the accessory dwelling unit, and I’ve heard from some folks that they [accessory dwelling units] not exceed 6,000 square feet, or 500 and something square metres, because we’re metric. Do we need to put that in the front end?
Roddan said if the amendment is approved, the next step would be to prepare a notice and send the bylaw to the public and invite them to a public meeting, because under the qRD communications policy, public engagement is recommended.
“When it is reviewed with the public, they may have suggestions, but we can’t presuppose what the suggestions may be,” said Roddan.
Gisborne said what he was hearing was that the board could support the amendment and have the public come in and indicate if they want to go one way or the other.
“Then, we can move forward based on that information,” said Gisborne.
The board voted unanimously in favour of forwarding the amendment bylaw to a future meeting of the board for first and second reading.
Later in the meeting, directors considered a zoning amendment bylaw for the Yaroshuk Road property, and that it be forwarded to a future board meeting for first and second reading.
Gisborne said he was inclined to support the motion with potential minor amendments. He said the amendment stipulated having a floor area no greater than 1,200 square feet and that he would like to see it expressed in square metres because Canada is a metric country.
He said the other feature he would like to see is that this amending bylaw applies to one property, and puts a limit on the floor area of the accessory dwelling unit, but it makes no restriction on the floor area of the primary unit.
“In the future, the primary unit can be built to essentially any size, and to me, that would be a bit of a concern around future septic and things like that,” said Gisborne.
Roddan said the square metres could be added to the amendment bylaw. She said the reason it was listed in square feet is because the septic specifies square feet.
For the second part of Gisborne’s question, Roddan said there is nothing in the zoning bylaw that regulates the size of a principal dwelling unit.
Electoral Area C director and board chair Clay Brander said the metric equivalent could be included in the motion, rather than making an amendment.
The motion to forward the amendment to a future board meeting for first and second reading carried unanimously.
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