At the recent Saugeen Shores Planning meeting held Monday (Mar. 21), Stu Doyle of Barry’s Construction told Council that many clients, whose homes are new or under construction, are now asking that secondary suites be included.
Mayor Luke Charbonneau said that he would like to see ‘secondary suites/additional residential units’ as part of the conditions of building in all agreements.
Doyle however said that Barry’s Construction was already doing that. “In 2020, six clients requested them, in 2021 eight clients and to date in 2022, three clients have asked for additional suites. So we are ahead of the curve.”
The Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) and Planning Act changed the regulations to included secondary suites in single-family dwellings and also attached buildings. The Official Plan amendment redefined ‘secondary suites’ as ‘additional residential units (ARU)’ and permits additional residential units in any designation where residential units are permitted as a primary use, and in most designations, allow up to two residential units or garden suites per primary residential unit – one in the building with the dwelling and one in a detached building.
Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau, (Toronto Star July 2021) said “he “strongly supported” the amendment and hoped to see more attainable, affordable units. He described adding housing units according to the county plan was “low-hanging fruit” in solving the housing crisis. It’s great, but it’s not enough. Work on this is just starting.”
Given the housing crisis that exists, it is expected that there will soon be a provision in Saugeen Shores for secondary suites to be built in a detached building on a property, such as a garage.
Doyle attended the Planning meeting to present a revision to a housing plan that had been previously approved for the vacant land at Ivings Drive and Ridge Street in the south end of Port Elgin.
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The revision would included 19 additional townhouses and one addition single-family dwelling, that would increase the housing density and comply with the Municipal and County requirement that 30 per cent of proposed housing in a development meet medium or high density.
Doyle explained that the townhouses would be “narrower in scope” in that they would have no access to the backyards through the garage. instead, direct access would be through the rear of the living area via patio doors. “This would result in a saving of some 30 feet,” said Doyle, “so that the actual footprint of each unit is reduced allowing for more units.”
The additional single-family dwelling across the street (Ridge St.) is a result of the removal of an original farmhouse. “The building was in too poor condition to be saved,” said Doyle. “We subsequently want to add a replacement dwelling which would mean there would be two single-family dwellings on that location with a walkway to land behind in the event of future development.”
Vice-Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Housing Task Force, Mike Myatt added that “… the revised mix is good and the fact that people are now asking for secondary dwelling units is a good step toward solving the housing crisis.”
Mayor Charbonneau reiterated that he would be interested in getting a broader sense of the number of secondary suites. “I would like to see the condition in every development agreement.”
