Red Deer city council approves changes to backyard suite regulations

Below is a summary of the changes made by council:

Height & Size limits

Backyard suites cannot be taller than the main house and must not exceed 5.5 metres when built at grade or 7.4 metres tall when built above a garage.
Backyard suites can be a maximum of 75 square metres or 75 per cent of the main house’s footprint, whichever is smaller.

Variance restrictions

The minimum distance of 2.5 metres between a backyard suite and the main house can no longer be varied.
The 15 per cent cap on the number of house suites plus backyard suites in all neighbourhoods can no longer be varied.
For the neighbourhoods of Parkvale, Woodlea, Waskasoo, Riverside Meadows, and Westpark, backyard suite regulations can only be relaxed to a maximum of 10 per cent.

Improved notification

If a backyard suite application needs a variance, all property owners within 100 metres will be notified.

Neighbourhood character

In Parkvale, Woodlea, Waskasoo, Riverside Meadows, and Westpark, all backyard suite applications are subject to the neighbourhood’s character statement and/or overlay.

Councillor Barnstable, who wasn’t a part of first reading back in August, said the commitment from council and the public on the matter made it a great final public hearing to finish on before the election in October.

“We took the pieces the public wanted and we were able to hopefully meet most of their concerns and this might be one of those situations where we all leave happy, which is very rare,” he said. “I like the changes that have been made and I’ll support them.”

Councillor Higham noted the resolution strikes a good balance between the idea several residents raised on the need to facilitate, “gentle density” and the aspirations of citizens and communities, particularly in older, historic, and character driven neighbourhoods.

“This to me is a powerful representation of democracy in action,” added Higham. “A council is elected to represent people, to listen to them, and to try and represent their aspirations and ideals. And I think this is a good experiment and I want to thank our community for engaging in this discussion and for caring enough to fight so hard for your communities.”

It was in April of this year when staff were asked to report back with amendments to the zoning bylaw for consideration by the end of Q3, including reducing maximum height of backyard suites, amending floor area maximum, developing special regulations for backyard suites for Woodlea, Waskasoo, and Parkvale, and to define ‘Storey’ and prevent liveable attic space.

The amendments brought to council at first reading on Aug. 6, were written by administration after gathering feedback from engagement sessions in the community.

As previously reported, below is a summary of the changes made by council at first reading in early August:

Building height: Maximum height of 5.5 m for Backyard Suites built at grade, or 7.4 m for Backyard Suites built over a garage.
Introducing a maximum floor area of 75m² (807 ft²), while retaining the existing 75% of the principal dwelling rule – whichever is less.
In any neighbourhood with character statements and overlays, Backyard Suites shall be subject to these regulations.
Discouraging liveable attic space by controlling overall height and size, addressing concerns without redefining “storey.”
Variance Powers: Any regulation in the bylaw relating to Backyard Suites may be relaxed by the Development Authority to a maximum of 15% in neighbourhood with Overlays or Character Statements.

Among the community members who participated in the public hearing prior to council’s decision included Peter Slade, board chair of the Woodlea Community Association.

“Some of the things we’d like to see improved, they’re small, but the 10 per cent number is a number we’d like to see rather than the 15,” he said.

“The other point, which is the height, that doesn’t allow the secondary suite to exceed the height of the primary dwelling. I think that one is quite important, particularly because of the relationship between the character statements and the regulation.”

In addition, Brenda Garrett, who spoke for the Waskasoo Community Association, said the majority of residents want to address urban sprawl and affordability but want to do so carefully and in a way that coexists with character, the environment, and the community.

“What I see are the vast majority saying yes, in my backyard, but lets keep these suites secondary, shorter and smaller than the main dwelling, as well as in the maximum limit, such as the three council came to at first reading,” she said.

She added that Waskasoo originally asked for zero per cent variance but requested the 15 per cent passed on first reading be lowered to 10 per cent, which she said is standard across other communities.

Dawna Morey, past president of the Parkvale Community Association, said she believes council listened to their desires during first reading but were hoping for changes.

They recommended that variance powers be lowered to preferably zero but would settle for 10 per cent. They strongly object to the variance of the 15 per cent cap on the total number of secondary suites included.

She explained when the variance issue was discussed at first reading, this cap was not considered. She said the Parkvale Community Association has raised this issue consistently and continue to urge council to uphold those protections.

In documents acquired by rdnewsNOW, the Parkvale Community Association filed an injunction against the City of Red Deer on Aug. 22 requesting a judicial review by the means of a survey of registered and non-registered suites in Parkvale.

It also would stop the City of Red Deer from giving final approval to the backyard suite matter.

“Our position is one of compliance with the bylaw, not enforcement, but as you can understand the impact this would have on the cap of units in our neighbourhood,” she said in the public hearing. “We respectfully ask that the ongoing issue of nonregistered suites be addressed. These issues create inequities in our neighbourhood.”

In the document, the basis for their claim said in February, Parkvale notified the city of a number of unregistered secondary suites in the Parkvale area.

At that time, Parkvale gave the city a ‘housing stock’ report prepared by Parkvale and they allege the city disregarded the report.

Parkvale asked the city to conduct a proper survey of all secondary suites in Parkvale, in order to prove the city is about to permit in excess of what’s permissible under the zoning bylaw.

However, the document states days after the original notification, the city placed the onus on Parkvale to provide a list of illegal secondary suites. But the association felt that was the city’s job.

On Sept. 8, the city filed with Court of King’s Bench to strike the original application by Parkvale. There was a hearing on Sept. 12 and the court case is still open and pending. It is scheduled to be heard on Oct. 3, 2025.

Since the matter is before the courts, the city said they are unable to comment on it.

by Ian Gustafson

Red Deer city council approves changes to backyard suite regulations

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