Critics say garage suite rules preclude wheelchair access
Restrictions impinge counter, closet and bathroom space, says architect with MS
Community advocates say new Edmonton garage suite restrictions will make it impossible to build them with room for wheelchairs.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” said Kim Ziola, an architect with multiple sclerosis who would like to build a unit for himself and his wife on his daughter’s 33-foot (10-metre) wide lot in King Edward Park. He’ll need a wheelchair eventually.
He thinks Edmonton’s new 50-square-metre, second-floor restriction on these units could end that dream. The restriction, passed late Monday, says any additional space must be on the ground floor.
That would mean taking an elevator at night to get a glass of water, eliminating the parking or using up most of the limited backyard.
“You cannot get a reasonable barrier-free unit in under 62 square metres,” Ziola said, criticizing the floor plans city staff shared to prove it could be done.
“You couldn’t manage to get into the bathroom (in those plans). There was no closet in the bedroom. There was two feet of counter space.”
Edmonton currently has about 120 garage suites since they were allowed on any regular-sized single family lot in 2015.
City planners have been trying to encourage more suites as a way to increase density, and proposed several changes to loosen the rules.
But some residents have also pushed back against what they see as a large, blocky wall beside a neighbour’s backyard.
Changes passed Monday will also make the units a permitted use, reducing the ability for neighbours to appeal, said senior planner Anne Stevenson.
They’ll also increase privacy regulations, allowing the development officer to request information on the windows of neighbouring properties before approving a design.
They’ll allow the stairs and an elevator to be included inside the unit without counting against the total square footage.
Several people spoke against the new size restrictions Monday.
City council passed the changes, but asked administration to take a second look at accessibility. They could allow more space for units that include the wider hallways and door wheelchair-accessible units need. They’ll report back in the spring, said Stevenson.
Coun. Tony Caterina pushed for the changes, saying the small increase in mass would be almost imperceptible to neighbours.
Coun. Scott McKeen proposed a new system where a design panel could review each proposal and refuse those that are imposing blank boxes. His colleagues didn’t support the idea, but will have the Edmonton Design Committee weigh in on the bylaw.
At public hearing Monday, council also passed zoning changes to allow seniors’ housing in Westmount’s Clifton Place development, a 12-storey tower in Tweddle Place, and a six-storey condo building on 99 Street.
They also passed a large-scale redevelopment of the Mill Woods Town Centre to accommodate higher density near the LRT.