Taking closer look at size of carriage houses

Petition issued over a planned 2,755-square-foot, three-storey home

Size does matter when it comes to carriage houses, council told Penticton city staff Tuesday.

At its regular meeting, council directed staff to bring back options for stricter regulations on character and form of carriage houses. The proposed new bylaws are expected to come at the Sept. 18 council meeting.

A look at tightening the rules came as little comfort for residents living on Kendall Crescent, who have been fighting an oversized carriage house proposed in their neighbourhood.

On Tuesday, the neighbours submitted a new petition asking for a moratorium on carriage houses until the city’s current bylaws are addressed. Council didn’t support the moratorium.

A homeowner at 142 Kendall Cres. has submitted an application to build a 2,755-square-foot, threestorey carriage house in her backyard. The primary home is a bungalow with a basement.

The proposed carriage house, which features five bedrooms, three bathrooms and two laundry facilities, was in front of council for a development variance permit at the last meeting to increase the footprint and height.

Several on council questioned if the home will become a vacation rental property.

Council denied that variance.

However, the carriage house is still going ahead — just without the extra height and decks that were proposed.

City planning manager Blake Laven confirmed that a building permit for 142 Kendall Cres. is already being processed and will likely be issued within a couple of weeks.

It was this over-sized carriage house that brought attention to the city’s hands-off approach to regulating the size and character of the homes.

In a presentation to council, Laven explained that in 2015 staff lowered the height restrictions but removed a regulation that mandated a carriage house couldn’t be larger than the primary residence.

The city also removed limitations on gross floor area.

For the past five years, the city has received over 50 applications and 30 carriage houses have been built. The homes have created $7.5 million in building permit value.

Most carriage homes have been built with lane access.

Coun. Judy Sentes lives on Kendall Cres. She didn’t sign the 22-signature petition but has voiced concerns with the size of the upcoming home and the lack of privacy for the immediate neighbours.

“There is no landscaping or trees in that yard,” said Sentes.

She would like to see staff look at landscaping and screening requirements with any new carriage house applications.

“We could require that if we require a building permit, just like we do with a single family home,” said Laven.

Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said it’s a frustrating scenario.

“No matter how hard we try, we can’t stop this?” he asked about the large carriage house on Kendall Cres.

Director of development services Anthony Haddad replied that applications that have already been submitted to city hall can’t be stopped.

“Any new bylaw wouldn’t be retroactive. Even if we had new bylaws in place today, it wouldn’t stop the carriage house at Kendall Crescent,” said Haddad.