POLICY REPORT
PUBLIC SAFETY
Date: May 23, 1995
Dept. File No.: cramend
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: General Manager, Fire and Rescue Services,
in consultation with the Chief Constable
SUBJECT: Amendments to the RS-1, RS-1S, RS-3 and RS-5 District
Schedules: Municipal Address for Legal Secondary Suites
RECOMMENDATION
THAT the requirement of a second posted municipal address
for single-family dwellings where legal secondary suites are
provided, be included in the amendments to the RS-1, RS-1S,
RS-3 and RS-5 District Schedules previously referred to
Public Hearing.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager, Fire & Rescue Services, notes that on
December 14, 1993, Council instructed the Fire Chief, in
consultation with the Director of Permits & Licenses, the
Planning Department and the Police Chief, to report back,
prior to a Public Hearing, on an addressing system which
satisfies administrative and life safety requirements while
minimizing the impact on single-family character of the RS
Districts.
COUNCIL POLICY
There is no Council policy directly applicable to this matter.
PURPOSE
This report advises Council of the Fire and Police Departments'
position on an addressing system which satisfies administrative
and life safety requirements. Multiple-family dwelling units are
already in existence and more requests for separate living
quarters in single-family dwellings are being proposed to meet
the housing demand of this city. It is Police and Fire's
position that placing a second address on the front of a building
will improve emergency response and record keeping. Furthermore,
this proposal will not have a substantial impact on the single-
family character of the RS Districts.
DISCUSSION
The Fire and Police Departments have concerns about their ability
to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies in buildings
with a single municipal street address with more than one
dwelling unit. Our concern is particularly significant in
buildings which lack an internal connection between units.
Internal connections are often removed after the occupancy
inspection to increase rentable floor area. Current regulations
allow the internal connections to be "waived" in certain
circumstances and the amendments outlined in Appendix A of the
December 14, 1993, Planning Department report would increase this
occurrence.
Most entrances to the secondary units are not visible from the
street. Unless there is a secondary address for reference, there
is the possibility that the Fire and Police Departments may
respond to the wrong unit causing time delay. The possibility
also exists that the emergency crew may respond to the wrong
tenants, not find a crisis, and dismiss the call as a false alarm
although there could be a real emergency within the same house.
If the emergency crew breaks down the wrong door, it also raises
the question of the City's liability. If there is a separate
address, the risk of all these possible confusions will be
minimized.
In addition to the benefits to emergency response, record keeping
for dwelling units will be greatly improved if there can be a
separate reference. These include keeping track of licenses,
inspections, statistics on housing supply, etc.
Many owners and tenants have requested a separate address to
their units for easier mail delivery. Staff have reviewed how
mail can be delivered to two separate properly identified mail
boxes.
Fire & Rescue Services has conducted a survey in which five other
major centres in Canada were asked for their respective street
addressing regulations. A separate street address is required
for secondary suites in single-family dwellings in most cases. A
survey of six local jurisdictions is not conclusive because
secondary suites are considered illegal in their bylaws. (See
Appendix A).
ALTERNATIVES
Alternatives such as assigning suite numbers or letters were
reviewed and rejected due to incompatibility of Canada Post's
computer system. Staff also feel that if there is one common
entry to the house where access to both suites is clearly
labelled with suite numbers, then one address reference will be
acceptable.
SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
While having a single address on a dwelling may give the
appearance of a single-family dwelling, there are other
indications of a multi-tenanted building such as garbage, foot
traffic, parking, etc. These are all visible impact without an
actual second address. Providing a second address, in itself
will not change the nature and characteristics of a
neighbourhood.
CONCLUSION
The Fire and Police Services strongly support the requirement of
a second posted municipal address for single-family dwellings
where legal secondary suites are provided.
* * * * * APPENDIX A
REPORT OF SURVEY
Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg
QUESTION:
Are basement suites in a multi-family conversion building
required to have a separate municipal address? Whether or not the
suite has an internal connection with the main floor.)
RESPONSES:
Calgary: All basement suites require separate street addresses
(eg: 2755R) indicating a rear entry, or in some cases
as determined by planning (1) (2) (3) for multiple
suites. Internal configuration are not considered.
Edmonton: If a basement suite cannot be accessed by an interior
stairshaft, it requires a municipal street address
separate to the house proper. Otherwise apparently
not.
Winnipeg: Ancillary suite numbers (1) (2), etc. or municipal
street addresses are required for basement suites
regardless of interior configurations. The choice of
which is determined by planning.
Toronto: Only basement suite doors visible from the street
require municipal street addressing regardless of
interior configuration.
Montreal: All basement suites require separate municipal street
addressing regardless of the entry door location. The
suite number must be posted on the door on the front of
the building with directional arrows, etc. Interior
configurations are not considered.
* * * * *