Architect's Statement - 2700 Herbate Road

RE: 2700 Herbate Road Side Yard Setback Variance Application

Mr. Davison,

I am writing this letter to provide some background information to the board of variance and or council so they can have some insight in to the decision to proceed with the application in which Brad Johnson and his family are applying for a side yard setback variance at 2700 Herbate Road.

In August 2015 I attended the site of Mr. Johnson's residence to review the current state of the buildings on site and to determine options for a secondary suite that conforms both the the Town of View Royal's zoning bylaw and the British Columbia Building Code 2012 edition. In my discussion with the Johnson family I was informed that this property had originally been developed as part of the District of Highlands and in more recent history (no dates were known) the properties along Herbate Road were transferred in to View Royal's jurisdiction. Without the knowledge of the original zoning for the property it is difficult to determine if the original construction was in conformance with the zoning bylaw that was enacted at the time of original development. It is also difficult to determine if the zoning bylaw of the day would have permitted multiple dwelling units on the same property, as some properties in the current District of Highlands zoning bylaw are permitted. After a review of the current state of the residence I advised them to find the path of least resistance, in terms of impact to the main residence and the current occupants (Mr. Johnson, his wife and newborn child and inlaws), as renovating the main residence would not only disrupt their day to day life it would add a significant cost to move the whole family to different accommodations while a renovation was done to the existing house. The existing residence is of the vintage that hazardous materials could be present which would then further exacerbate Mr. Johnson's construction budget for these renovations.

In this specific case, the governing factors for secondary suites in the zoning bylaw and building code, are one and the same as the View Royal zoning bylaw's requirement are identical to the criteria for secondary suites, in terms of location and size, as those contained in the BC building code. With that in mind the Johnson's case presents a unique hardship in that the single family dwelling on the property does not conform to the zoning bylaw for side yard setbacks regardless of the presence of the secondary suite. The reuse of the existing accessory building as the framework for the addition to the main residence to act as the secondary suite also avoids a significant amount of construction waste which would ultimately end up in the landfill.

Should this variance application, to reduces the side yard setback, not be granted in it's current form Mr. Johnson would be forced to make another application, at an additional cost to him in both money and time, to reduce the side yard setback on the main residence as the current house is in an existing non conforming state with respect to the current zoning bylaw. This current hardship that Mr. Johnson and his young family are facing should be addressed by council in the most beneficial way for all parties involved without having to spend additional time and money to go through the application process again.

If you or any member of the board have any questions on any of the above prior to reviewing this application at council please do not hesitate to contact me.

King Regards,

Kyle Shick, Project Manager