Burnaby city council wants the provincial government to allow larger larger basement suites in homes.
The municipality will forward a resolution to this year’s Union of British Columbia Municipalities that, if endorsed by other cities, will request the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to eliminate a 90-square-metre (970-square-foot) cap on suite sizes in the B.C. Building Code.
The resolution would ask the province to retain a limit restricting suites to 40 per cent of the home’s total floor area.
“If there are mega houses with basements, which are 3,000 square feet, (the owner) won’t be able to build a 3,000-sq.-ft suite,” Coun. Pietro Calendino explained.
The UBCM’s annual convention will be held in Vancouver from Sept. 23 to 27.
Burnaby has already approved two other UBCM resolution submissions. Council wants local politicians to be eligible for government pensions and for secondary suites to be allowed in duplexes.
