Secondary suites discussion at council brings up housing availability in Bonnyville

The rental crunch in Bonnyville is being felt by many, not just the cost, but the amount of available places to rent

That’s where secondary suites come in — homeowners who look to rent their unused basements or split their homes for a prospective renter.

Two permits to create a secondary suite was submitted for town council’s approval at the latest Municipal Planning Commission meeting. One was approved, while one was denied.

The proposed development at 4305 49 Avenue under the zoning of “Medium Density Residential District” was approved, due to parking space and rear access.

However,  a new construction at 4503 38A Street located in a cul-de-sac under the “Single Family Residential District” zoning, was not. 

“There are a lot of factors to take into account,” said Mayor Elisa Brosseau. 

“I think the biggest factors for us is parking. You have to have parking on that property for that secondary suite. The one residential home actually had a back alley and had an opportunity to have parking in the back for the secondary suite. Unfortunately, the other residents did not have an alley, and was in quite a congested area as it is. So two cases, two very separate and differing scenarios.”

The denied applicant was rebuilding the dwelling due to a fire that destroyed it a year ago, and is in the process of rebuilding they would like to have a legal basement suite.

They would’ve needed another parking stall to be added, council notes indicate. Also, two adjacent landowners responded with the hope of refusing due to traffic and space, including citing an incident where a child was struck by a vehicle.

But the question of housing a big one everywhere.

Stats provided show that since 2010, 27 secondary suites have been approved in Bonnyville, but only two since 2018.

With the cost of rent going up at many local apartment buildings, is this on council’s radar?

“Those are all conversations we’re having now is, if we want to grow, we need to see new housing. We need to see different types of housing.

“Affordable housing comes into play as well. I can say that council is actively having discussions right now on how we spur investment and what that investment looks like.”