| Politicians spend most of our time working on ways to improve things in society, but unfortunately sometimes those who might benefit the most from our efforts are barely aware of them, while those who are opposed tend to be very involved, hostile and in-your-face. As a result, achieving any change in society is always an uphill and often thankless task.
One of the better initiatives I am working on at the moment has this precise problem. I 'm worried it isn't going to fly at all unless I get some help from you, my friends – the dear readers of Fast Forward. I think that many of you might be directly impacted by what I am trying to do, so your input may be really important – to you! – as well as many others.
The subject is illegal basement and secondary suites, and what could and should be done to improve them – or not.
First, a little background on the issue (for fuller details, go to www.jonlord.ca under "Discussion pages" - Social Issues). Currently, I am co-chairing the Provincial MLA Committee on Secondary Suites Building Regulations, a committee that I had to fight hard to create, and which hasn't been easy – things went downhill fast when word got around we were trying to "legalize basement suites."
Illegal basement suites are a big concern to some, and a very contentious issue to say the least. We have NIMBY in spades – apartment landlords opposed to the "unfair competition," angry people complaining about parking, complaints that the poor people living next door are adversely impacting (our) neighbourhood property values – and on the other side we have homeless shelters filling up, sky-high rents, and thousands of good people, young and old, who simply can't find or afford anything else. All the ingredients for a no-win showdown that any sane politician would avoid at all costs – which is why they almost all have, right across North America, for decades now. So, you wonder, why have I been so insistent on getting into this issue over and over again? Well, it is simply because I think it is the right thing to do, it's long overdue, and I am convinced that I have a better idea that could solve almost everybody's problems. Not that this counts much in politics!
Currently, when it comes to approving basement suites, even if the area is zoned for them, municipalities have to enforce building codes that were designed for new duplexes. Contained in those codes are two major requirements, which simply don't work for old basements – you must have an eight-foot ceiling, and you must have two furnaces. If you don't, the City of Calgary isn't allowed to approve the building unit, period. Consequently, most basement suites are built without municipal approval – thus the term "illegal" – which leaves the city with the dilemma of having to close them down as fast as they can find them, (which it often does, resulting in evicted tenants left to fend for themselves) or having to turn a blind eye and pretend they never saw them, leaving the city potentially exposed to negligence liability and lots of other bad things. Landlords, knowing their risk, are reluctant to invest barely anything in their basement suites accordingly, leaving tenants in substandard and perhaps even unsafe conditions – but why would landlords spend any more, knowing that any investment is constantly at risk? "If you set the bar too high, so that they cannot comply, they will not apply!" It has been an uneasy standoff for decades, with many unfortunate tenants caught in the middle, needing a cheap place to stay.
So, I innocently made a public proposal: "Can we have a look at this and see if we could perhaps relax those two requirements?"
" Klein government planning two-tier safety standards, one for the rich, one for the poor!" was the immediate response from a big-paper reporter in Edmonton, intent on trashing anything and everything the Klein government does or will ever try to do. (Actually ma'am, it was just me trying to do it.)
Naturally, reader and other response from that hateful article wasn't very pleasant, virtually killing the entire effort. Suffice to say that I was forced to remind myself constantly why and for whom I was doing this, and how important it was for them that I continue to take it on the chin and soldier on.
Our re-worked question (amazing how you can get so many completely different answers on the exact same issue, depending on how you word the question!) became: Can we allow for slight relaxation in nice-to-have standards such as high ceilings and separate furnaces, in return for significant improvements in life-and-death safety standards, such as smoke detectors, proper exits and at least one window large enough to crawl out of?
Finally, the question I think might be the winner: Should municipalities be allowed to approve basement suites in areas that they have already zoned for such purposes, by adding a category to the Provincial Building codes specifically designed for basement and secondary suites; a code which allows municipalities to give approvals provided that safety standards are upgraded- but that no longer require an eight-foot ceiling, nor two furnaces?
So, what do you think? Believe it or not, resolving this issue would create spin-offs that could help tens of thousands, right across the country. The authorities, however, are unconvinced. Contact me on my webpage with your thoughts – and thanks!
Jon Lord is a former city alderman and current Calgary Currie MLA. |
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