Banff Looking into Secondary Suites in Homes

By Cathy Ellis - Rocky Mountain Outlook - July 16, 2009

Town planners say secondary suites offer a way to increase density to meet the demands of Banff’s growing population, without modifying the size of a building.

They say suites can provide income for homeowners, allow families to accommodate aging relatives, and help integrate the town’s shadow labour force into the existing community.

But Darren Enns, Banff’s senior planner, said one of the options under consideration – cabin suites – would only be allowed where there was lane access or on a corner lot.

“We don’t want to overwhelm the town with having cabin suites all over,” said Enns, who is also the project leader of the land use bylaw review.

“The course we’ve taken is to take it slow, and so far, most people think it’s a great idea.”

Other proposals to increase the housing supply include proposals to either rezone green space to residential lands, or tinker with development regulations to encourage redevelopment.

The Town says Banff’s population is growing at a rate above the national average and housing has not kept pace with that residential growth.

It is estimated Banff’s current housing shortfall is about 400 units. In addition, there are currently about 170 names on the Banff Housing Corporation’s waiting list.

As for secondary suites, they have been in existence in Banff for decades, known as cabin houses, granny flats and many other names.

Planners say that in a town as small as Banff, understanding where suites should be permitted is more a matter of context, versus some sort of geographic distinction.

For example, they say a basement suite might work fine within a single family residence or a duplex, but fitting a suite into a four-plex or an apartment unit is a bit trickier.

Under the proposal, enclosed secondary suites would be allowed throughout town, on any lot where the primary use is as a single family dwelling, or a duplex.

Wherever the unit is part of a condominium corporation or subject to a head-lease – for example, Banff Housing Corporation homes – approval from the internal governing body would be required.

Specifically, cabin units would be allowed on any lot in town which has lane access or whose lot has access to more than one road frontage, such as corner lots.

There would be some size restrictions, too.

Secondary suites would be limited to a maximum gross floor area of 900 square feet and a minimum of 300 sq.ft. and must always be smaller than the area of the primary residence.

As is common in other communities with secondary suites, including Whistler, B.C., and Canmore, the Town would require one on-site parking stall per accessory dwelling.

“If we can regulate it, we can make them safe and deal with some of the negative aspects we’ve heard of, such as parking,” said Enns.

Randall McKay, Banff’s planning and development manager, said his department has been in talks with other communities along the spine of the Rockies, such as Vail, Colorado, on the issue of secondary suites.

“They are part of the Banff tradition for decades and are a really good idea,” he said. “They fit in very nicely here.”

Meanwhile, the Town will begin drafting amendments on residential density over the course of the summer, with the intention of presenting recommendations to council as early as September.

After that, they will begin the next public outreach phase of the review, which includes topics such as commercial growth management regulations, commercial build-out, home occupations and bed and breakfast accommodations.