Is a legalisation of secondary suites really a viable solution that will be seriously considered in the new Official Community Plan (OCP) given that it will increase density, and put “real strains on septic and water supply”?

And is there a Trust-wide policy on this issue Gabriolan Russ Congdon wanted to know at the Feb. 25 Local Trust Committee (LTC) meeting.

Trustee Sheila Malcolmson said Trust policy says that there “shall not be” increased density and intensity of use in areas that are known to have water shortages, and that does characterise many parts of Gabriola and other islands of the Salish Sea.

Malcolmson said that Bowen Island recently allowed for the legalisation of secondary suites, but that the only person who made use of that provision was the bylaw officer. She said that there “may well be real barriers - building code, fire safety, water, septic, (Vancouver Island Health Authority), everything” to legalising secondary suites. She said that Planner Patricia Maloney has been asked to research whether suite legalisation will ever be possible at even a theoretical level, before the committee considers the idea.

Past trustee and Regional Director Gisele Rudischer said that the LTC is waiting for a great deal of information in order to discuss the issue of legalising secondary suites. She noted that, nonetheless, the OCP Volunteer Review Committee (VRC) seems to be already discussing “secondary suites and additional housing and additional density without benefit of all this research that you haven’t got yet”. She hoped that the LTC would give the VRC direction to wait for information before they discuss issues.