Petition Opposing the Adoption of Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 7600, 2017

The petition of the undersigned residents of the City of Delta states that: WHEREAS:

A. City of Delta Council Report (the "Report") dated November 21, 2017, as reviewed and endorsed by the City Manager, and presented to the Mayor and Council for the City of Delta (hereinafter referred to as the "Council") pertains to Delta Zoning Bylaw No. 7600, 2017 ("Bylaw 7600").

B. The purpose of the Report is to present for Council's consideration Bylaw 7600, together with an overview of the bylaw review process and a discussion on implementation matters;

C. Bylaw 7600 has been referred to a Public Hearing on January 30, 2018.

D. Among other things, Bylaw 7600 proposes the following provisions and/or amendments (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "Proposed Amendments"):

i.              Secondary suites are permitted on lots of at least 15m (49ft) in width only (the "Secondary Suite Provision");

ii.            Secondary suite parking is not permitted within the front yard (the "Parking Provision");

iii.           A maximum of 24m2 (258ft2) extra floor area given for attached or detached garages accommodating only one motor vehicle (the "Garage Size Amendment")

iv.            A minimum 12m (39 ft) lot width has been established for the smallest single residential zone (the "Lot Width Amendment"); and

v.            Accessory structures on single detached dwelling lots are limited to 10m2 (108ft2) (the "Accessory Structure Amendment").

E. The petitioners (the "Petitioners") who have signed this petition, all of whom are residents of,

and/or owners of residential property in, North Delta, oppose each and every one of the Proposed Amendments.

F. The Petitioners oppose the Proposed Amendments for reasons that include, but are not limited to, the following:

       i. The Secondary Suite Provision will:

              (a)   decrease the population density in Delta;

              (b)  reduce the availability of affordable housing in Delta;

               (c)   negatively impact the ability of homeowners of lots with a smaller         width than 15m (49ft) to secure financing and/or refinancing for their homes, and/or      pay mortgages on their homes; and

                (d)  reduce the value of lots that are less than 15m (49ft) in width;

        ii. The Parking Provision is unnecessarily cumbersome and denies homeowners the right to allocate their existing parking space(s) to residents of the primary and secondary suite in their home, as they see fit;

        iii. The Garage Size Amendment is unnecessarily cumbersome and restricts the ability of homeowners from parking vehicles 'in-tandem' as opposed to 'side-by-side';

         iv. The Lot Width Amendment increases the minimum size of lot frontage from 11m

(36ft) to 12m (39ft) which will:

               (a)   disallow the subdivision of many lots and result in a decrease in the value of such lots;

                (b)  result in financial hardship for many property owners who purchased lots with the intention of subdividing their respective properties into lots having minimum frontage of 11m (36ft); and

                 (c)   result in financial hardship for homeowners who were planning to subdivide their respective properties into lots having minimum frontage of 11m (36.0892ft) and/or sell such lots to developers seeking properties that can be subdivided;

v.           The Accessory Structure Amendment reduces the size of such structures from 20m2
(215ft2) to 10m2 (108ft2) which will:

               (a)   unnecessarily restrict the use and enjoyment of properties by homeowners in the City of Delta, particularly since the current restriction on the size of accessory structures, namely, 20m' (215ft2) is sufficient and has not led to a prevalence of oversized structures, as has been incorrectly claimed in the Report; and

                (b)  reduce the desirability of properties in the City of Delta and result in a decrease in the value of such properties;

vi.       The Zoning Advisory Group and/or the Council solicited input from residents in the City of Delta via a questionnaire (the "Questionnaire"), which was completed by 1607 individuals. Eighty-five (85%) of the responses to the Questionnaire, clearly and unequivocally opposed, among other regulations, the following regulations:

            (a)   additional house size cap in North Delta;

             (b)  the Secondary Suite Provision;

              (c)   the Parking Provision; and

              (d)  the Accessory Structure Amendment; and

vii. The adoption of the Proposed Amendments is prejudicial to the rights and interests of residents in the City of Delta, and will unnecessarily restrict and/or deny residents in the City of Delta the full and proper use and enjoyment of their homes and/or properties

G. The Petitioners request that Council NOT adopt the Proposed Amendments.