February 25, 2019
“Additional opportunities for garage and garden suites, along with strengthened design provisions and incentives for accessible units, support high-quality suites that meet a range of housing needs across all our neighbourhoods,” says Anne Stevenson, Senior Planner with the City’s Zoning Bylaw team. “Ensuring a range of housing choices is an important part of building our city and creating diverse, inclusive and complete communities.”
Changes include:
- Allowing garage and garden suites on properties of any size, including narrow lot properties
- Providing opportunities for stationary tiny homes to be permitted as garden suites
- Increasing design flexibility through adjustments to floor area regulations
- Strengthening design quality requirements
- Simplifying regulations to create a simpler application process for builders and neighbours
- Making it easier to build accessible suites and creating incentives for landowners to build them
The new regulations allow accessible units to be built without a parking space for the suite. The maximum floor area for the second storey is increased from 50 to 60 square metres in mature and established neighbourhoods when the suite is built to be accessible.
The changes are part of fulfilling three actions in the City’s
Infill Roadmap 2018
:
incentivize accessible laneway homes; investigate opportunities for tiny homes; and improve housing affordability. The Infill Roadmap 2018 is the City’s action plan for welcoming more people and new homes in Edmonton’s older neighbourhoods.
