After years of heated public debate and then a referendum last fall, Metchosin is set to pass its bylaw allowing detached secondary suites.
Metchosin council passed the first two readings of the bylaw unanimously on Monday and a public hearing has been scheduled for April 30.
Coun. Bob Gramigna explained once the bylaw is passed, Metchosin homeowners can apply and register a detached suite through the District.
“That will give us a file of who has one,” Gramigna said, answering the question during the meeting of how suites will be regulated.
The regulation-heavy, five-page bylaw has many criteria homeowners must meet before a detached secondary suite is declared legal.
Terms include that the size of the suite cannot be more than 70 square metres and it cannot exist on a property that already has a secondary suite. An accessory building, such as a barn, used as a detached secondary suite cannot be used simultaneously for any other purpose. A detached suite must also be within 15 metres of the principal dwelling.
All detached suites must comply with all bylaws pertaining to health and fire as well as building codes. “The bylaw is written as to what is prohibited, not what is permitted,” Gramigna said.
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