The Cariboo Regional District board was briefed on challenges with diversifying housing options through developing “carriage houses” and “secondary dwellings” within existing land use bylaws. “Carriage Houses” are permitted to be developed in any residential or rural zone, regardless of lot size. However, they are required to be built within an existing ancillary structure, like a garage or workshop, are restricted to a single storey, and do not permit many designs being promoted by CRD municipalities. The Board directed staff to prepare bylaw amendments to increase the flexibility in what is classified as a carriage house by:
- Allowing for a stand-alone carriage house instead of requiring them to be attached to another structure like a garage or workshop;
- Increasing the allowable building height to 8.6 meters to align with municipal bylaws;
- Permit carriage houses to be built as two-storey buildings within the maximum allowable height; and
- Restrict carriage houses to a minimum allowable width of 6.1 meters to ensure a desirable building form and not permit the proliferation of single-wide manufactured homes.
Additionally, the Board authorized changes to what can be permitted as a secondary dwelling. Secondary dwellings are permitted only on lots larger than 4 hectares, subject to any restrictions for properties in the Agricultural Land Reserve, and are restricted to a maximum size of 130 square meters. The Board has directed staff to prepare bylaws to make the following changes for secondary dwellings:
- Remove provisions preventing secondary dwellings from being connected to ancillary structures. This will reduce the overall footprint of permitted structures and allow the totality of secondary dwelling floor area to be dedicated to living space.
- Increase permitted total floor area of a secondary dwelling from 130 sq. m (1400 sq. ft.) to 186 sq. m. (2002.1 sq. ft.).
The proposed bylaw amendments will now be developed by CRD staff and brought forward to a future board meeting. They will then be considered by the Board, Electoral Area Advisory Planning Commissions, and (if the bylaws receive a second reading) be referred to a public hearing.