SECONDARY SUITES FOR KELOWNA REAL ESTATE?
Posted by paige on April 5, 2010 | No Comments
Here we go again. West Kelowna city hall is talking about automatically allowing secondary suites in any single family home. With the lack of affordable rental housing available you’d think it’s an easy decision. But think again…
City hall in Kelowna tried this several years ago and they met with tremendous opposition. Too many cars, too many people, not enough control, reduction in real estate prices, “not in my neighbourhood” attitude, and more. Even though there were a lot of homeowners wanting this blanket zoning change, it was eventually voted down due to the opposition. Instead new rules and guidelines were implemented for those wanting to put a suite in. These new guidelines for adding a rental unit in your Kelowna home were less onerous and expensive than the previous rules and seem to be working to this day.
West Kelowna council and West Kelowna residents association are heading for the same kind of difficulties and are trying to come up with a solution to the secondary suite dilemma. City’s thoughts being that there is not enough time in the day to hold so many public hearings (currently required if you want to change your zoning to allow for a suite) and there are so many people needing to find affordable rental housing that a blanket zoning change is the only solution. The residents association feels that it allows for too many problems with management of the extra suites and it reduces the real estate values of homes in that neighbourhood.
There is only one neighbourhood that I’m aware of in Kelowna that the property values have suffered due to suites in a lot of the homes. This shift in value occurred when homes were just being built in that neighbourhood and has remained that way over the years… buying and selling in that neighbourhood is relative, you pay less when buying there and although you will see an increase in the prices if the Kelowna real estate market goes up, you’ll get less than in other neighbourhoods when selling.
There are also lots of “unauthorized” suites in neighbourhoods that you wouldn’t expect to see them in. For instance Dilworth and Wilden. Real estate values have not been affected by those suites at all. These suites, in my opinion, can help stabilize a real estate market by opening up the field of buyers that otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford that home. The suite can also provide for a home office should a new buyer not require or desire a suite in their home (I know… that opens up a new can of worms!).
At the end of the day, I’d like to see Kelowna and West Kelowna’s city councils’ time spent on things that benefit the greater good of our valley. Responsible development, looking for ways to become more sustainable, water conservation, attracting and keeping business in the valley, more transportation and parks, and generally continuing to guide the growth of Kelowna and West Kelowna. What do you think?
Talk to you soon…
Paige
Filed Under: Kelowna Real Estate
