BUILDING PERMIT UPDATES FOR 315 AND 331 STEWART AVENUE

TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT

TO: Council
DATE: September 4, 2025
FROM: L. Taylor, MCIP, RPP, Director of Development Services
MEETING DATE: September 16, 2025

BUILDING PERMIT UPDATES FOR 315 AND 331 STEWART AVENUE

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report from the Director of Development Services titled “Building Permit Updates for 315 and 331 Stewart Avenue” be received for information.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on building permits for 315 Stewart Avenue and 331 Stewart Avenue in response to questions received from members of the public at the Council meeting on September 2, 2025.

BACKGROUND:

At the Council meeting on September 2, 2025, members of the public addressed Council during Question Period with specific questions related to concerns associated with building permits received for two properties located at 315 Stewart Avenue and 331 Stewart Avenue as shown in Figure 1.

A building permit for the construction of a single-family dwelling (SFD) was issued on August 11, 2021. The permit was renewed on September 20, 2022, and again on October 23, 2023.

Town Inspection Timeline

• 2021-11-04 – Footing
• 2021-11-16 – Footing
• 2021-11-23 – Foundation
• 2021-11-25 – Foundation
• 2022-01-12 - Insulation
• 2022-06-17– Framing
• 2022-09-20– Sheathing / Rain Screen
• 2022-10-24– Insulation
• 2022-10-25– Insulation
• 2023-03-31– Final

A final inspection was requested on March 31, 2023. As non–life safety deficiencies remained outstanding, full occupancy could not be granted, and a conditional occupancy was issued.

At the time of these renewals, the former Building Bylaw No. 786, 2010 did not restrict the number of permit renewals. However, the new Building Bylaw No. 1111, 2023 that came into force on November 1, 2023, limits building permits to two renewals. Under this bylaw, the current permit was valid until August 11, 2025.

The owners were notified that their building permit had expired, and that under the current Building Bylaw no more renewals were allowed. The owners have since submitted all required documentation to apply for a new building permit in order to complete the remaining construction of their SFD.

331 Stewart Avenue

Construction of a house on this property was completed in 2022. In the building permit plans, a pre-existing accessory building was noted as “TBD” as shown in Figure 2. Since then, the applicant has provided calculations to confirm the 366m² combined building floor area (consisting of approximately 321m² house and 44.6m² accessory building) does not exceed the maximum combined floor area of 372m² permitted in the R-1 (Residential Large Lot) zone.

The pre-existing accessory building is located in the front yard abutting the road and does not comply with current siting requirements for accessory buildings, in accordance with the zoning bylaw (i.e. behind the front face of a house/attached garage).

The accessory building is many decades old and was constructed prior to the adoption of Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 2014, and precedes Land Use Bylaw 1990, No. 35. The structure is non-conforming, and it cannot be expanded, rebuilt or replaced without a variance, subject to Council approval.

ANALYSIS:

Impacts and implications can be summarized as follows:

ALIGNMENT:

The recommended option aligns with the Town’s following core guiding documents as follows:

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GOAL:

The desired level of public participation for the recommended option is:

[x] Inform
[ ] Consult
[ ] Involve
[ ] Collaborate
[ ] Empower
[ ] N/A

TIME CRITICAL:

This report is not time critical.