Relaxing rural housing restrictions could help housing crunch, developer says

A developer in Central Bedeque, P.E.I., says relaxing the rules in rural areas could take some pressure off the affordable housing crunch in urban areas.

Murray Sallis, owner of the Anchor Motel, wants to build multi-unit housing in the area.

But provincial regulations in communities without their own bylaws don't allow secondary suites unless they are approved for a family member. If they are approved, they must be detached, and removed when their initial purpose is no longer needed.

"It just doesn't make sense," Sallis said.

"If you're going to try to provide housing in a rural situation, then increasing density by allowing secondary suites and creative ways of developing the land is certainly something that should be encouraged rather than discouraged."

Requests for in-law suites

Sallis said the pressure seems to be on urban development, but allowing duplexes or secondary suites to be built in rural areas would encourage people to stay in the country.

"The pressure on urban development and trying to come up with solutions for housing and affordable housing can be helped by looking at trying to relax the rules in the rural situations," he said.

We don't want to see septics overflow and contaminate water.— Dale McKeigan, P.E.I.'s manager of provincial planning

Dale McKeigan, P.E.I.'s manager of provincial planning, said the government plans to review the rules.

He said his department receives a lot of requests for in-law suites and home-based occupations — such as hair salons — that aren't currently accounted for in the legislation.

"This is something we definitely want to revisit this winter and look at what we can do to modernize some parts of the legislation," he said.

McKeigan said the existing rules were designed for rural-type development.

"When you start putting secondary uses on a property, and they're allowed to stay there after the original intent, then they become rental units and that creates a whole different dynamic in the community," he said.

"The more we try to introduce urban-style development in the regulations, it either doesn't fit or we have to make a decision if we want to amend it in order to allow those things to occur."

'Have to be very careful '

McKeigan said septic capacity is another factor in rural development regulations.

"We have to be very careful when we do any further development on an existing lot. Can this addition fit comfortably on the lot, and allow the lot and the buildings on it to function properly?

"My thinking is there's a way to compromise and do this but we have to make sure that whatever we do, at the end of the day, whatever we do functions properly on that lot. We don't want to see septics overflow and contaminate water."

More P.E.I. news