Mission’s new secondary suites program will stay paused for at least two more weeks while potential changes are reviewed.
Council reevaluated the program at Monday’s (Jan. 8) meeting after receiving a summary of public feedback and four recommendations from city staff.
According to the staff report, the two most significant concerns with the program were the $200 annual secondary suites fee and the requirement to install a water meter for those seeking an exemption from double utility billing.
“I do think that part of this was just a lost-in-translation thing. This wasn’t about council taking away an option, but trying to present people with an option that would allow folks who are currently law-abiding in every other part of their lives — but not when it comes to their suites — to have a way of doing that,” Mission Mayor Paul Horn said.
Coun. Jag Gill advocated to remove the annual fee entirely on Monday, but the motion was defeated 5-2 with Coun. Ken Herar also in favour.
A reduced $60 annual secondary suite fee was approved in a 4-3 vote with Gill, Herar and Coun. Angel Elias opposed.
While the reduced fee doesn’t include discounts for registering early like the $200 fee, council will have staff look into expanding exemptions for the fee.
Council voted unanimously for staff to report back on exemptions for suite owners with low-income renters on all fees — the annual suite fee, exemption application fee and double-billing user fee.
Gill also motioned to allow an exemption from the annual fee for those with a family member staying in the suite. It initially passed 4-3, but after learning the exemption could lead to a potential tax increase, Elias voted against the motion and it was defeated 4-3.
“We did it for low income and I know a lot of people that house their parents or their kids because they can’t afford into that market or that rental market. So I would like to give them that same thing that we just gave to the … low-income families,” Gill said.
Horn says the program should be self-funded and the $60 fee is reasonable compared to other municipalities.
“I think we’ve gone about as deep as you can go when other communities are charging $260 to $730 for a comparable program,” Horn said.
A motion to make water meter installation voluntary for existing registered suites and another to remove the fee for exemption applications carried unanimously.
A pair of previously deferred bylaws related to unregistered secondary suite fines were adopted later in the meeting.
Council also asked staff to report back on a simpler definition for decommissioning a suite, more information on exemption qualifications and the possibility of having exemptions every second year.
“When people have to decommission is really if they don’t register and they get caught. That’s essentially it. That’s when we’d be looking at decommissioning or having them go through the process to actually fully legalize their suite,” Director of Development Services Dan Sommer said.
Operations of the secondary suite program were halted at the last meeting on Dec. 18. Staff will provide another summary to council at the Jan. 22 meeting.
NOTE: A previous version of this story stated suite owners with low-income renters will be exempt from all fees after a unanimous vote from council. However, council unanimously resolved for staff to report back on the possibility.
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