Suite relief proposed by city

The cost to create an additional dwelling on a property in Nelson could be coming down.

New legislation is being considered to reduce the cost to connect water service for secondary suites and laneway houses.

On Dec. 5 city council passed the first three readings on a Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw Amendment (Secondary Suite and Laneway House Water Service) amendment to cease requiring the replacement of existing, nonconforming 1⁄2-inch (12.5 millimetre) water service connections with 3⁄4 inch (19 mm) water service connections for secondary suites and laneway houses.

The amendment also proposed to increase the minimum size of pipe used for new service connections from 3⁄4 inch (19 mm) to one inch (25 mm) in order to “future-proof infrastructure for infill.”

Former city planner and now consultant Alex Thumm said the amendment could save homeowners as much as $8,500 on the cost to build or renovate another residence.

“In the last few years, when this has come up for building or adding a laneway house to a property, on average it has cost $8,500 to do so,” he said via Zoom in the last regular council business meeting of the year. “When you are talking $8,000 to upgrade the water line alone, it’s a significant increase to the project budget which can lead to higher rents.”

The amendment relaxes water line size requirements for laneway houses for development by allowing existing non-conforming pipes to continue to be used that have already been servicing that property for a number of years.

“And it does not require the property owner to have those pipes dug up to be replaced in order to receive a building permit,” he said. “We determined it does not make sense to require a waterline upgrade in these cases. The emphasis is still on the work required; it is still a possibility (to dig up), and in many situations it would be recommended that the applicant pay to have their waterline upgraded in order to have a comfortable level of water flow going forward.”

The city’s servicing bylaw currently applies the same standards for the portion on public property as the National Plumbing Code requires for new construction on private property: minimum 3⁄4-inch (19 mm) or larger, depending on the number of dwelling units and water fixtures.

“The rationale for larger waterline size is to ensure adequate water pressure and flow for future occupants’ benefit,” said Thumm in his report to council. “However, the plumbing code does not always require a waterline replacement on private property solely because a suite is being added to a single-family home.”

If the amendment is adopted by council, Development Services would include a recommendation on building permits that the property owner considers paying to have their water service connection size upgraded in order to ensure adequate water flow.