There was a public meeting to discuss a zoning bylaw amendment to permit creating additional residential units (ARUs) in the Municipality of Trent Lakes.
The amendment will allow ARUs on existing residential lots if they are located on a public road, they are more than 300 metres from a lake trout lake, have a lot area compliant with minimum requirements (1 acre) and are not serviced by a municipal drinking water system.
Approved units would be permitted in the Rural, Rural Residential, Hamlet Residential and Shoreline Residential zones with appropriate environmental assessments.
Ted Spence, who is chair of the municipal Environmental Advisory Committee spoke at the meeting and asked that ARUs not be allowed on shoreline residential lots.
“Shoreline lots should be looked at on a case-by-case basis”, Spence said.
Deputy Mayor Carol Armstrong asked if there is any wording that could be put in the bylaw to prevent the additional units being used as short-term rentals (STRs).
Councillor Peter Franzen said he does not think the municipality wants to come across negatively in terms of STRs.
“We’re talking about a 900 square foot unit and we’re regularly approving applications to go from a 1,000 sq ft cottage to 3,000 to 4,000 sq feet,” Franzen said. “Why should ARUs be treated differently than additions to cottages?”
Armstrong said that that the objective of the ARU bylaw is to increase housing and that creating more STRs does not do that.
“And I think that is the view of the province as well,” Mayor Terry Lambshead added.
The draft bylaw will come back to council at the August 12th meeting for final approval. Provisions in the bylaw will include:
• all existing buildings shall be lawful and compliant with the zone regulations
• the lot shall have a minimum lot area of 4,000 square meters
• the septic system must be lawful and compliant with the Ontario Building Code
• the maximum total floor area of the additional unit shall be 915 square feet
• there must be a shared driveway
• the principle dwelling and ARU must share a common wall
For ARUs in a detached accessory building the provisions share most of the same provisions except:
• the additional unit will be confined to one floor
• the building housing the ARU has to be no more than 10 metres from the principle dwelling in a rural residential zone, a shoreline residential zone or a hamlet residential zone and no more than 20 metres in a rural zone.
Only one ARU will be allowed on each lot.
As a result of the discussion at the public meeting, the draft bylaw will be amended to allow ARUs on waterfront properties only when there have been proper environmental assessments.
Staff will look into which municipal bylaw would be the most appropriate to add wording to prevent the ARU program being used to build STRs.
