He’s taken a lot of heat on social media, but an Okotoks man says he’s following all the Town’s development rules.
When he decided to downsize from his ranch just outside town, Blake Willard purchased a home on Alcock Close, backing onto Veterans Way. After cleaning up the yard and hauling away nine trailer-loads of garbage, he decided to build a three-door garage large enough to house his truck and RV, vehicles and workshop.
Above, he’s building a 410-square-foot studio suite, with tenant parking in the garage below.
“Call it a mother-in-law suite if you may,” said Willard. “It’s a suite above for cash flow sustainability, to put a little more housing in Okotoks. There’s quite a shortage of reasonable housing in Okotoks.”
Despite hearing no other opposition from his immediate neighbours, Willard found himself the subject of online judgment via Facebook on Aug. 12, when someone posted a photo of the garage under construction and questioned why the Town approved a development that took up 80 per cent of the property.
Willard sent copies of the plans to all of his surrounding neighbours prior to receiving his development permit last August.
Only one neighbour raised concern over the building, because the second-storey suite would have a view directly into her back yard. Opaque windows on the north side allowed him to keep the natural light but also relieve the neighbour’s concern, he said.
Willard said his building abides by the Town’s land use bylaw, which dictates a maximum lot coverage of 45 per cent.
“We’re at approximately 42 per cent with the house and this building,” said Willard. “There are parameters for height as well, and we’re under the nine metres high.”
He said people who referred to the building as an eyesore on Facebook need to wait for the final product. It will be a vast improvement on the derelict sheds and garbage that was there before, he said.
“I mean, okay, it’s not finished,” said Willard. “When that post popped up we had one wall or two walls up on the top and it’s all just pressed board and it looked terrible, but that’s not what it will look like in the end.”
The Town has also specified how the final product will look through architectural controls, he said. The house and garage must match, and the fresh stucco on both buildings will clean up the lot significantly, he said.
Doing it right has meant a higher cost, but Willard said it’s worth the more than $200,000 investment.
“When it’s finished, it will fit in quite nicely and people will think the house is a brand new building too, because it’s all going to be gorgeous,” he said. “I feel like I did a bit of breaking ground here on this so lots of people can do it.”
Okotoks development officer Colleen Thome said studio suites are not unheard of in town, whether they appear above a detached or in an attached garage, or in a basement. The suites are listed as discretionary uses on the land use bylaw for residential zones, she said.
When a homeowner wants to build a suite, the Town’s bylaw requires a notice be posted on the site for at least 21 days to give the neighbourhood an opportunity to know what’s being proposed, she said.
“We don’t get a lot of pushback on studio suites as long as there is sufficient parking on-site and that kind of thing,” said Thome. “Occasionally, you’ll have people asking questions or who might have concerns with parking or might not want to see renters in their neighbourhood, but not too often.”
Applications approved by the municipal planning commission are advertised in the newspaper, and anyone who believes they’re affected by the decision has two weeks after publication to appeal, she said.
It’s important for residents to pay attention to notices in their neighbourhood and speak up if they have concerns about development, she said.
“Once it’s under construction, it’s too late to appeal by then,” said Thome. “If people have an interest, they should pay attention to the postings and the advertisements.”
