Penticton should require mini-suites

Editor: Regarding: the official community plan amendment bylaw for 135 Front St.

As far back as 2008, people in Penticton were asking for mini-suites of 300 square feet and under.

A developer of a 35-storey tower in Surrey has suites as small as 316 square feet for $93,000. They are billed as affordable luxury in the Greater Vancouver real estate market.

In Kelowna, decreasing rental vacancies combined with high real estate prices are forcing change to that market. Kelowna’s manager of community planning Ryan Smith says there are over 500 micro suites smaller than 314 square feet approved or in construction, with developers getting cuts on development cost charges to incentivize micro units.

These units are being approved for established areas with existing parks and road infrastructure, lessening the impact on city services.

According to a study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, there is a steep decline in licensed drivers among younger people.

About 46 per cent of American teens in 1983 became licensed drivers sometime in the year after their 16th birthday with a drop of nearly half by 2014.

Millenials are demanding a lifestyle that values location over square footage and amenities. Younger people increasingly prefer to live near their work; in urban areas and travel by bike and/or leave the driving to Uber or public transit when necessary.

It is past time we serviced the need in this market. A Penticton developer is asking for approval to build a five-storey combined commercial and residential building at 135 Front St. My understanding is there will be little in the way of parking for this building.

In my opinion, we should be requiring a certain percentage of this building be developed into micro suites combined with mandatory facilities to handle the storage of bikes.

In the future, all apartment complexes should be examined for the viability of putting a certain percentage of micro suites within their premises with appropriate storage facilities to handle bikes. After all, we have established a network of bike trails for this purpose.

Elvena Slump, Penticton