A Port Coquitlam property owner is hoping the city will grant him permission to build a wider house on his skinny lot.
Christophe Vaissade Designs proposes to rezone 1305 Pitt River Rd. to Residential Single Dwelling 2 (RS2) in order to construct a new single-family home.
The rezoning is one of five properties that will go to public hearing tomorrow (Dec. 13) at Port Coquitlam City Hall.
Houses on skinny lots are often found in older neighbourhoods in Vancouver and New Westminster; however, in Port Coquitlam, the property owner would like to build a house slightly wider than that allowed under the current zoning.
The property is located in an older neighbourhood and zoned RS3, which was created for lots that were 100' wide and one acre in size.
His property is long and skinny — more than 34' in width, 122' long and 4,000 sq. feet in size.
If a house were to be built to the old RS3 standard it would have to adhere to larger setbacks, resulting in a home that is only 15.5' wide.
If the zoning change is permitted, the side yard setbacks would be slightly narrower, so he could build a 21.5' wide home, including a secondary suite and a double garage.
City staff believe that the RS2 zoning works for this long, narrow property.
"The proposed RS2 zoning is appropriate for this property and will allow for the property owners to build a new single residential dwelling with a secondary suite that will fit into the neighbourhood and provide housing choice. The rezoning will also result in infrastructure upgrades to surrounding streets," a staff report notes.
If approved, the rezoning would go to third reading.
New townhouses, duplexes
Here's a list of other rezoning projects for public hearing and third reading:
- 1727 Prairie Ave. - townhouses
- Proposal to amend the zoning at 1727 Prairie Ave. from RS1 (Residential Single Dwelling 1) to RTh3 (Residential Townhouse 3) to permit the development of a three-storey, six-unit townhouse development with landscaping.
- 1543 Bridgman Ave. - duplex
- Proposal to amend the zoning at 1543 Bridgman Ave. from RS1 (Residential Single Dwelling 1) to RD (Residential Duplex) to allow for a 2.5 storey duplex.
- 3317 Handley Cres. - duplex
- Proposal to amend the zoning of 3317 Handley Cres. from RS1 (Residential Single Dwelling 1) to RD (Residential Duplex) to allow for a duplex use.
Subdivision proposals
- 3346 Finley Ave. - subdivision, rezoning for second reading
- Proposal is to amend the zoning of 3346 Finley St. from RS1 (Residential Single Dwelling 1) to RS2 (Residential Single Dwelling 2) for a two-lot subdivision. The current lot size is 9,436 sq. ft.; upon subdivision, the two lots would each be 4,717 sq. ft, which is larger than the minimum lot size required for the zone of 4,036.6 sq. ft.
- 3587 Oxford St.
- Council is being asked to adopt a rezoning to subdivide the property into two small lots of 4,869 sq. ft. each
