Suites are a necessary housing option

As part of their review of the issue of secondary suites in single-family homes (also known as basement suites, in-law suites, rental suites, etc.), The District of Sooke is forming a Secondary Suites Advisory Committee and needs volunteers from various neighbourhoods in Sooke to come forward to share their views and make recommendations to town council to help them craft any future legislation regarding suites.

Secondary suites are a necessary housing option, especially in a town like Sooke where there are very few purpose built apartments. They also make the dream of home ownership more attainable for the average family. However, regulations need to be in place for health and safety, nuisance, and taxation purposes.

Council is seeking to form a “community-based committee to evaluate and make recommendations to Council by November 30th, 2010 on the issue of secondary and small suites, including the legalization of illegal suites.”

If you’re interested, you’ll need to volunteer by Friday to be a part of the committee. Representatives from all areas of Sooke are needed, so go ahead and have your voice heard! Click here to visit the relevant page on the Council website.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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A Basement Suite (complete with The Sopranos on TV)

The District of Sooke is currently investigating the secondary suites issue, and is looking for feedback from residents about suites. At issue is the potential for legalizing secondary suites (also known as basement suites or apartments) in more zones in the District. Currently, suites are only allowed in dwellings on lots with a certain zoning applied to them.

Despite this fact, many property owners in Sooke have created secondary suites to rent out to help with the mortgage, or generate revenue. As the District isn’t in the business of evicting tenants, they’ve for the most part let it slide. It only makes sense for them to regulate and control all suites in the district, allowing them to ensure first that they are properly constructed and safe for habitation, and to collect extra revenue to recoup the additional strain on municipal resources such as sewage, fire, and police services.

Secondary suites are essentially the main type of rental housing in Sooke. There are very few purpose-built rental apartments, and many of the privately-owned condos are subject to rental restrictions. This has become the case in many municipalities in the greater Victoria region, as financial incentive for a developer to build rental apartments has been virtually non-existant since the 70s – instead, they opt to build and sell condos.

Visit the District Of Sooke’s web site to take the survey on secondary suites, and ensure your voice is heard.

Got an opinion on secondary suites? Post a comment and start the discussion!

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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What a difference a good council can make. Since being elected last November, the new Sooke Municipal Council has been busy. They’ve arranged for several provincial government grants for public projects, installed nearly three kilometres of new sidewalks, pushed ahead with plans for downtown revitalization, and now, finally, Sooke is going to get its hotel.

Sooke has long been known for its fabulous bed and breakfast facilities, and the Sooke Harbour House, a world-famous high-end seaside inn, but has always lacked a modern, middle-of-the-road hotel for everyday tourists. That’s all going to change.

Last year, three waterfront parcels along West Coast Road just before Whiffen Spit were put up for sale. The District of Sooke bought one, and the other two were acquired by Prestige Hotels. The District and Prestige have proposed an agreement to build a 122-room hotel, with a 400-person convention centre, full service marina, gym, spa, pool, lounge and restaurant and two ‘bistro-style’ eateries. Construction could start as early as this fall. The District will agree to build a public boat launch and pier on their property, and will pay Prestige $300,000 for five years, which will entitle the District to 12 rent-free days per month in the convention centre, for a total of nearly two years of free usage for the District.

A similar deal was reached in the community of Salmon Arm. District representatives traveled there last year to meet with Prestige representatives and talk to local politicians. While the idea of paying the hotel company was controversial at the time, it has worked out very well for Salmon Arm. Conventions and tourists are coming to town, and the building of the hotel attracted another new hotel to build in the area, and caused another one to undertake a major renovation.

As I see it it, there is no downside to this. A major commercial operation like this hotel will generate a lot of revenue for the District in property taxes, not to mention the ability to host conferences and conventions, weddings, tournaments, and all other events that will generate spending in our town. It takes a lot of people to build a hotel – the jobs will be welcome as residential construction has slowed in the past year. After the hotel is built, there will be jobs for people to work there. Finally, there will be a publicly-owned boat launch in the centre of Sooke and another marina right next to the mouth of the harbour. The fitness facility will be open to public membership, and the convention centre will be available free of charge to community and non-profit groups.

More details can be found in this article from the  Sooke News Mirror. Sooke’s council has accomplished much in their first ten months. They should be applauded for taking the initiative to attract this deal rather than waiting around for some hotel company to eventually find their way out the winding Sooke Road.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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We’re lucky in Sooke to have such a nice facility for recreation as the SEAPARC (Sooke and Electoral Area Parks And Recreation Commission) arena and pool. The facility, located on Philips road just off Sooke Road is modern, clean, and a great value.

Since moving to Sooke almost 4 years ago, I’ve enjoyed the pool and arena, but must admit I’d use the facility more if it had a fitness facility. Currently there is a small aerobics room for drop-in and regular classes, but no weight room or cardio studio.

In 2008, the subject of expansion of the facility to include a weight room and aerobics facility came up, and after some public consultation some conceptual drawings (1,2,3,4) were done up and the plan was put forward. This week, I received a survey in the mail outlining some of the details of the project as well as the potential costs involved. It’s planned that two-thirds of the estimated $2.7 million cost of the expansion will be funded through various grants and federal and provincial money as well as other funding sources. That leaves about $1 million to come out of SEAPARC’s budget, which of course is funded by you and me, the taxpayer.

If the project goes ahead, there would be a corresponding increase in property taxes in the District of Sooke and the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area, which pay for SEAPARC. What does borrowing $1 million look like on your taxes? About $20 per year for an average home in Sooke and about $14 for an average home in JDF. Not much, really for such an important and exciting project.

The expansion would add a second storey viewing area and expand the existing arena dressing room and aerobics, in addition to the weight room and other fitness facilities.

By adding these new options at the SEAPARC recreation complex, we would also be adding the user base of the facility. There is only one similar gym in Sooke – Odyssey Fitness – and a second option would be great for our town. Plus, I’d love the ability to go for a hard workout and then take a dip in the pool or hot tub! If the user base increases then perhaps the increase in revenue could offset the tax increase someday.

Watch for the survey in the mail, or click here to download it, and then drop it off either at SEAPARC reception, Bill’s Store in East Sooke, Kemp Lake Store in Otter Point, or the Port Renfrew Community Centre. Or, simply scan and e-mail it to seaparc@crd.bc.ca.

It’s your town, your facility and your money – let SEAPARC know what you think!

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Bravo to whoever designed this - I like it!

One of the best things about moving to Sooke is the excellent system of parks and trails our district enjoys. From Ed MacGregor Park and the waterfront boardwalk to the Galloping Goose Trail, there’s always something to do in some beautiful park in Sooke.

Today when I went to grab the best cappuccino on the continent at Sooke’s renowned Stick in the Mud Cafe, I noticed the above brightly coloured flyer. Upon flipping it over, I read that the District of Sooke is holding a public open house to review a draft of the Parks and Trails Master Plan. Residents are invited to share their ideas and priorities for the future of parks and trails in Sooke.

The open house runs Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 from 4:00 until 8:00 in the foyer of the SEAPARC Arena, Philips Road. Light refreshments will be provided.

I encourage all those who love our town and the outdoor recreation opportunities it offers to come out and have your say in the future planning for those amenities. I’m planning on attending, hope to see you there!

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Congratulations to Mayor Janet Evans, who was re-elected in a fairly close battle with Rick Kasper. Only two incumbent councillors were re-elected, Ron Dumont and Sheila Beech. Newcomers Dave Bennett, Maja Tait, Herb Haldane, and Bev Berger will join them in Sooke’s new municipal council.

Overall, I don’t think the vote could have gone much better. Political newcomer Dave Bennett got nearly 600 well-deserved votes more than his closest competitor. I’m expecting good things from him in the council chamber. I won’t go into detail on my personal opinions, bu, I believe the right people got elected and will be able to move forward with Sooke business over the next three years.

Also, Juan de Fuca Electoral Area residents have elected Mike Hicks over Ute Schnarr to the CRD board.

Here are the Sooke voting results from the CivicInfoBC Elections Site:

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Sooke Harbour

Since I first posted about the plight of the residents of the Seaview Mobile Home Park in Sooke, I’ve had quite the response from residents of the park and observers of the situation. I even had a comment the other day that was so defamatory that I was afraid to post it and I deleted it. Libel and slander are not why I started a blog.

It’s understandable – this is human drama in the purest form. A disadvantaged group of tenants at the mercy of a landlord. These struggles have gone on for centuries and always cause emotions to run high. I am honoured that the residents are choosing my blog as a forum to express their comments, and I thank the two residents of the park that have taken the time to e-mail me to update the situation.

Ever since I wrote last week about Sooke Council passing the mobile home park resident protection bylaw, I wondered how it would affect Seaview, since they were given the eviction notice before the bylaw was passed. I feared that if the eviction notice was lawful, the residents would be forced to leave.

I got an e-mail yesterday from a resident of the park who informed me that the residents are disputing the eviction on the grounds that it was illegally served. This person further stated that even if the eviction notice is valid, that the landlord will have to relocate or buy up the units at fair market value. It would appear then that the District of Sooke’s new policy will apply to the residents, which is some good news.

I will keep updating as I get more information.

Your comments are always appreciated, and can be left below this post or by clicking on the big red comment link.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Sooke Municipal Hall

An updated on the situation I posted about last week:

Last night, at the Sooke Council Chambers, the owners of the not-so-mobile homes in Sooke’s Seaview Trailer Park breathed a sigh of relief as Sooke Council unanimously passed the proposed policy on mobile home park redevelopments.

The policy protects mobile home owners by requiring the owner of the park to either compensate the owners for the fair market value of their homes or relocate the home to another pad before redevelopment will be permitted.

The Council also gave a legal opinion that the eviction notice served to the owners was in fact illegal (probably due to the fact that it stated that all municipal approvals were in place for redevelopment, which was untrue).

One park resident has been in e-mail contact with me and tells me that the owners have a court date in November to challenge the eviction notice. Stay tuned for updates.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Update – Oct 28, 2008

It was reported this morning that residents of the Seaview Mobile Home Park in Sooke (that’s the one behind Pizzability in the centre of town) have been served their required one-year notice to vacate the property upon which their homes sit by the owner of the property, Jeff Zigay. The notice states that the owner intends to redevelop the property to another use (likely townhouses or some other multi-family project), that all required permits and applications have been approved, and that the tenants must be gone by October 31st, 2009.

This is the latest in a growing list of mobile home parks that have had their tenants evicted as land values have risen and owners sell to developers.

For those reading that don’t live in the area, this is an extremely difficult situation, as these people own their mobile/manufactured homes, but not the land upon which they sit. Most of these homes have been there for decades and cannot be simply moved to other locations for several reasons: many have had additions or alterations made to them, are too old or in poor condition to survive a move, and there really isn’t anywhere to put them. No new parks are being built, and most municipal zoning does not allow for them on private lots.

When the notice expires, these people are essentially homeless, and will have to find accommodation which will invariably be more expensive. Pad rent at the park is around $350 per month; where can one rent or buy for that? And for those that have a mortgage on their home in the park, they’re stuck with paying for a home they no longer live in.

Interestingly, the eviction notice comes down just as Sooke Council is hammering out a bylaw to protect residents of these parks from eviction. Similar to a policy passed in nearby Langford, the plan would call for compensation to the residents and/or assistance moving their home to another suitable location. Currently, Provincial legislation calls only for compensation for 12 months of pad rent, which is not enough to discourage owners from redevelopment of their properties.

Mobile home parks are a source of affordable housing, and need more protection under stricter legislation. I don’t blame the park owners for what is occurring, it’s their land and they should be able to do with it what the law allows. It’s up to Provincial and municipal lawmakers to protect affordable housing in our community.

What do you think?

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

Your comments are welcomed and encouraged!
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