A local woman will now be allowed to build a portable affordable housing unit on the property where she lives, Bradford West Gwillimbury council voted this week.
BWG resident June Greenstreet was considering a move to Burlington, her closest affordable housing option, before her daughter, Jodi, applied for a temporary use zoning bylaw amendment for a 100-square-metre dwelling at 4136 Line 8, a property Jodi rents.
She made the application on behalf of the property owners, according to a town staff report.
“I’m certainly in favour of this,” Mayor Rob Keffer said at a Committee of the Whole meeting where the application was given initial consent. Council gave final approval at a meeting April 16.
“It’s something that’s in our Official Plan. This is a good opportunity for other people to realize that it’s there.”
According to the town’s bylaws, a portable garden suite — one-unit, detached residential structure with a bathroom and kitchen — is allowed on agricultural properties, but no more than one home is allowed on any lot.
Since Greenstreet already lives on the property, the amendment would allow for a second unit for her mother.
According to a draft agreement, the property owners are responsible for maintaining the garden suite and associated lands in a “neat and orderly manner.”
The temporary bylaw would be in place for 20 years, and would have to be reapplied for when that was up.
If the property sells, the garden suite occupant leaves, or the bylaw is expired, the owners have 60 days to remove the suite and “restore the associated lands to a neat and orderly condition,” read the draft agreement.
