FW: Proposed Secondary Suite Permit Bylaw Amendments
Email correspondence from R. Steer expressing concerns over the proposed increase in secondary suite renewal fees and suggesting their elimination.
Elena Bolster
From: Info Address Subject: FW: Proposed Secondary Suite Permit Bylaw Amendments
From: RonS
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 5:58 PM
To: Info Address info@viewroyal.ca; Mayor And Council Email mayorandcouncil@viewroyal.ca
Subject: Proposed Secondary Suite Permit Bylaw Amendments
Mayor and Council of View Royal,
Charging a fee to have a secondary suite simply makes no logical sense in the context of the current acute housing shortage:
- Trying to make housing more affordable for a renter? If so then eliminate the suite renewal fee.
- Trying to make housing less affordable for a renter? If so then increase the suite renewal fee by 100%.
- Trying to reduce the rental inventory? If so then increase the suite renewal fee by 100%.
- Trying to improve the rental inventory? If so then eliminate suite renewal fee.
I've carefully read through the 2023.09.29 CoW report "Secondary Suite Type 1 and Type 2 Permits".
Under "Alternatives" unfortunately it didn't offer council a more obvious and sensible option 3:
Eliminate the annual secondary suite permit renewal fee and automatically renew permits annually without a fee (as mentioned in the report how N. Saanich does it).
The itemized annual labour effort in the report conveys that the majority of the costs the annual permit fee recovers are incurred simply to administer the collection of the fee. In other words it is essentially a make work project to pay for itself.
I disagree strongly with the rationale that doubling the fee will somehow incentivize homeowners (in order to save $200/yr) to spend a minimum of tens of thousands of $ to (evict their tenants in order to) renovate their suite up to the current BCBC (and then subsequently charge tenants a much higher rent to recoup the suite's renovations costs). As homes age and as they are resold they are gradually upgraded and renovated. At that time building permits will be sought and type 2 suites will be brought up to code.
So please do not increase the Type 2 suite renewal fee and, as well, introduce a motion to eliminate suite renewal fees.
Thank you for your service,
R. Steer