Housing

Benefits of ADUs:

• no new land or government funding required
• maintain the existing character of the neighbourhood
• require fewer resources to build and maintain than larger dwellings and are easier to finance and less expensive to build
• respond to increasing demand for small dwellings
• help seniors stay in their homes, with income that can help qualify for a mortgage
• support multi-generations and communal living

Concerns about ADUs can be addressed:

• Overpopulation – Given the high cost of construction, legalizing ADUs for long-term occupancy is more about creating a path for legalizing existing ADUs and allowing modest increases in specific areas, especially for multi-generational living, rather than creating a lot of new housing stock.
• Water and Wastewater The permit process requires that water and wastewater requirements are addressed prior to getting a building permit for an ADU. In addition to this safeguard, data shows that current standards require far more water to be available on each residential property than is typically used.
• Sensitive Ecosystems The same setbacks, development permit area guidelines, and provincial and federal regulations that safeguard ecologically sensitive areas from the potential impacts of building detached houses also apply to ADUs.
• Short-Term Rentals Currently, short-term occupancy in ADUs is widely allowed for seasonal cottages and tourist accommodations, while long-term occupancy is not. This needs to be flipped to allow more legal long-term rental homes for locals. Zoning and business licensing are the existing tools used in other communities that could equitably regulate short-term rentals without preventing long-term occupancy.

Actions recommended by Salt Spring Solutions:

• Islands Trust – provide public information and education on the impacts and benefits of ADUs
• Islands Trust – Integrate recommendations from the Housing Action Program Task Force in the proposed Bylaw 530 and renew effort to permit long-term occupancy of ADUs and tourist accommodations in all residential zones
• Islands Trust – Explore creating a density bonus program to conditionally all additional ADUs that achieve high ecological or energy standards or that maintain affordability
• Islands Trust – Update zoning regulations to modernize and limit short-term accommodation uses.
• CRD – Resource a business licensing system for short-term rentals in line with best practices
• CRD – Resource internal capacity for managing private housing agreements for ADUs with affordability controls.
• CRD – Identify funding for capital grants and other incentives for private development of ADUs under housing agreements.
• SSIWPA – Provide recommendations for where ADUs can be best located based on available water supply information.
• NSSWD – Revise policies to define ADUs as an intensification of an existing water service instead of a new hook-up.
• NSSWD – Remove barriers to legalizing ADUs within the NSSWD
• NSSWD – Explore innovative policies and practices for encouraging water conservation, developing alternative sources of non-potable water, and restricting treated domestic water for interior uses only.