ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: February 19, 1996
Dept.File No.2178DIC.COV
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Assistant Director of Permits and Licenses
SUBJECT: Secondary Suite Program
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT the 13 Secondary Suite Program staff positions be
extended as follows at a cost of $502,200 in 1996 with funds
to be provided from the 1996 Operation Budget:
i. Seven positions to be made regular, subject to job
evaluation by the General Manager, Human Resource
Services.
ii. Three inspector and three clerical positions be
extended until June 30, 1996.
B. THAT the $10.00 special inspection fee be changed to $83.00
where the application is made within 60 days of notification.
C. THAT the Director of Legal Services be instructed to bring
forward the necessary by-law amendments.
D. THAT the Development Permit, Building, Plumbing, Sprinkler,
Gas and Electrical Permit fees be adjusted at the next major
review of fees to fully recover the ongoing costs of the seven
permanent positions approved in this report.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of
the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
In November of 1994, Council approved the extension of 13 Secondary
Suite Program staff positions until December 31, 1995, to allow
completion of the notification process in all RS-1 and RS-1S zoned
neighbourhoods.
Recommendations for increased staff or enhanced programs are to be
offset by corresponding spending reductions or by increases in non-
taxation revenue.
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PURPOSE
To provide an update on the Secondary Suite Program, and to recommend
the retention of seven permanent and six temporary positions to process
the ongoing influx of complaints, inspections and suite permit
applications.
BACKGROUND
In the fall of 1986 and early 1987, Council established the present
direction for the suite review program. This included restricting the
development of secondary kitchens, allowing family suites and the
approval for the Joyce Station area "pilot project". On December 15,
1987, the amendments to the Zoning and Development By-law for a new RS-
1S district schedule were approved. Subsequently the Planning
Department has carried out neighbourhood reviews and reported the
results to Council. These reviews have resulted in the rezoning of
approximately half of the RS-1 areas to RS-1S zoning.
On July 14 1988, Council approved a City Manager's report which outlined
the staffing needs for implementation of the suite enforcement program
in the Joyce Station area. These 12 positions were filled during the
first six months of 1989.
On November 30, 1989, Council authorized 11 additional staff (total of
23 positions) to implement the Secondary Suite Program in all RS-1 and
RS-1S zoned neighbourhoods. In October 1991, Council reduced the number
of staff to 18, and approved these positions until December 31, 1994.
As part of the budget review process in 1993 and 1994, further
reductions to the present 13 were implemented.
In November 1994, the 13 positions were further approved by Council
until December 31, 1995, in order to complete the notification process.
Staffing levels are shown in Appendix A.
PROGRAM STATUS
On August 1, 1995, Secondary Suite Program staff completed the
notification process for the last area -- the Dunbar/Kerrisdale
neighbourhood. Applications continue to come in from this area as well
as the previously notified areas. Up to December 31, 1995, a total of
4,247 Special Inspection Applications have been received, resulting in
2,905 Development Permits being issued for short and long-term retention
of suites. Appendix B shows the program statistics by neighbourhood.
While the initial notification process has been completed in all
neighbourhoods, staff continue to process the ongoing special
inspections and follow-ups of existing and new permits, as well as the
inevitable complaints. The bulk of the work in the
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previous areas is related to dealing with suite complaints, permit
issuance and follow-up inspections, as well as monitoring short term
phase-out suites which are due to expire. There are currently 60
applications waiting for inspections and 900 active files, including new
applications, work in progress, applications to upgrade from phase-out
to permanent status and orders to correct unsafe conditions. All of
this work is heavily service oriented as most suites have been
constructed by inexperienced home owners and it is often difficult for
inspectors to determine the safety of the gas, plumbing and electrical
installations. As well, numerous visits may be required to clarify the
type and quality of repair required. Appendix D gives examples of
problems found in suites.
STAFFING
Between January 1993 and September 1995, this department has received a
total of 2,079 complaints regarding illegal suites. Approximately 75%
of these complaints have been referred to the Secondary Suite Program
for enforcement letters and subsequent follow-ups. The retention of a
core group of seven permanent staff will enable the department to
continue these tasks as well as handle the ongoing complaints,
inspections and permit applications.
The remaining six positions are needed until June 30, 1996 to help clear
up the current backlog resulting from the final area notification.
Previous general permit fee reviews have taken into consideration the
work done by Secondary Suite staff, and these costs have been built into
yearly increases. The next review in 1996 will include a mandate to
ensure all costs associated with the Secondary Suite Program are covered
by permit fees, as these staff are now part of the total permit process.
It is estimated that this increase would be approximately 2% to 3%.
The current staff positions are shown in Appendix A.
SPECIAL INSPECTION FEE
A two-level special inspection fee for secondary suites was approved by
Council in 1991. To encourage early applications, home owners who apply
within 90 days of notification are charged $10.00, while those who apply
after the 90 day period pay the regular fee of $252.00.
Now that the initial notification process has been completed, the
reduced $10.00 fee at the 90 day period is no longer applicable, except
in the case of a new owner. Staff recommend that the concept of the
reduced rate be retained for new owners, but at $83.00 (the fee charged
for re-inspection when owners wish to
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upgrade from a phase-out to permanent suite) rather than $10.00. This
will continue to encourage home owners to upgrade the safety and
liveability of their suites while providing increased permit fee
revenue.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The costs associated with the recommendations in this report are
$502,200 in 1996 and $357,391 annually thereafter. Details are provided
in Appendix C.
Consistent with Council's decision in November 1994, funding for this
program lapsed at the end of 1995 and no provision has been made for it
in the 1996 Permits and Licenses budget target. If Council approves the
extension of the program as recommended, funding will have to be added
to the 1996 Operating Budget. Offsetting revenue, as recommended in
Recommendation D, will not be available until after the next major
review of trade permit fees, scheduled to take place following
completion of the Building and Development Process Review expected in
the Fall of 1996.
On January 26, 1996, Council considered the preliminary Operating Budget
position and approved a budget envelope with a maximum general purposes
tax increase of 1%. In recommending that position to Council, staff
committed to finalizing the 1996 estimates with a tax increase as close
to 0% as possible. The preliminary budget position acknowledged that
there were several outstanding programs/staffing requests, including the
Secondary Suite Program, that would be considered by Council prior to
the estimates being finalized. While approval does not seriously impact
on a 1% tax increase position, approval of these recommendations will
make the 0% tax increase objective more difficult to achieve.
CONCLUSION
The implementation of the Secondary Suite Program continues as
previously approved by Council. This program allows flexible options
for owners wishing to upgrade or install a suite, and for those owners
caught with an illegal suite. The provincial government has recently
amended the Building Code to facilitate the installation and
legalization of suites similar to the City's changes instituted in 1989.
The suite program has evolved into a section of Permits and Licenses,
which has the responsibility to deal with all secondary suite issues.
Extra staff time is required to deal with the suite issues which often
involve landlord/tenant disputes, multiple suites in one house,
coordination with the Vancouver Health Board and housing relocation
staff, and extensions of time for home owners. This volume of work
cannot be assumed by other Permits and Licenses staff, and is most
effectively dealt with by a core group of trained staff.
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