Property tax deferral ends today, with outstanding bills set to be charged late penalties again.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Votes at city council paved the way for two new housing styles in Medicine Hat as well as the possibility that C-cans could become more widely used as sheds.
Two separate land-use bylaw amendments dealt with on Tuesday included a raft of regulation changes that clears up a catch-22 for redeveloping narrow 25-foot lots in older neighbourhoods.
As well, a change to medium-density will allow duplexes with rental suites in an up-down configuration to be built on three lots on Ranchlands Boulevard.
City planning staff told council members before a public hearing that changes were required because existing lots in the Flats were vacant, but existing setback guidelines were too stringent to place a new house without substantial variances being granted.
“Right now we don’t have any rules whatsoever about how to develop a 25-foot (frontage) lot,” said planning official Jim Genge. “It’s inevitable that we’ll see some redevelopment.”
Similarly, Genge said metal shipping containers are being used throughout the city, despite the fact they are only allowed in industrial zones, and only then out of sight from the street.
New regulations would allow the department to issue permits and place conditions on size and finishes such as siding or shingles to have them blend into the neighbourhood.
Other general changes reduce side set-back restriction on narrow lots reduced to 1.3 metres to the property line and allow 50 per cent site coverage. That could promote “skinny-home” development on city lots that usually measure 130 to 150 feet in length.
The minimum frontage on a residential lot in new communities or on newly subdivided lots remains at 10-metres (about 33 feet), and wouldn’t be captured by the changes, planners said.
In Ranchlands, private developers are planning to buy three city lots and build three duplexes in the 300 block of Ranchlands Boulevard. That would typically be allowed in a low-density residential zone, but the building style allows the unit owner to rent out the full basement suite as an income property.
In response to neighbour concerns about increased traffic and parking requirements, planners said fronting road is a collector and had required capacity for additional living units.
