The purpose of this project was to refine garden suite regulations, drawing from suggestions made at a previous Public Hearing meeting, an analysis of development permit applications, and discussions with stakeholders. The end result was a set of recommended changes to the Zoning Bylaw to improve the buildability of garden suites.
Project Stage
Changes to Zoning Bylaw 12800 were approved by City Council and came into effect on February 25, 2019 (Item 3.3).
What's Changed?
Changes to the Zoning Bylaw regulations for Garden Suites include:
- Adjusting inclusive design standards for accessible suites
- Allowing 60 square metres on the second storey of accessible garden suites in mature and established neighbourhoods
- Increasing maximum total building floor area from 120 square metres to 130 square metres
- Removing maximum floor area for living space
- Providing opportunities for stationary tiny homes to be permitted as garden suites by removing minimum floor area requirements for garden suites
- Removing minimum lot size, aligning with the approach for secondary suites to allow garden suites on narrow lot properties
- Adjusting facade articulation requirements
More information about the changes can be found in the Public Hearing report, and through our updated How To Guide (35MB) and Interpretation Guide.
Public Engagement
The City of Edmonton is committed to citizen engagement.
City staff reached out to recent applicants for garden suites to better understand their experiences with the new regulations. A draft report with proposed recommendations was circulated for 4 weeks to external stakeholders for review and comment. A survey to gauge attitudes toward tiny homes was also conducted in October 2018.