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Lumby Passes Affordable Housing Bylaw

Lumby Passes Affordable Housing Bylaw

Oct 2, 2018 | 2:00 PM

Lumby council is moving ahead with a new bylaw aimed at creating more affordable housing in the village.

Mayor Kevin Acton says council adopted the bylaw Monday after getting input in a public hearing, with one person concerned about increased density in some neighborhoods.

“Part of the bylaw is, it does have to meet certain criteria, s there has to be a certain amount of yard space, livable space, there has to be driveways.”

Another resident praised council for its forward-thinking on the issue.

The bylaw will allow for secondary detached units, smaller lot sizes, and multiple homes on individual lots.

“There are some things we’re going to have to make sure we keep an eye on. Parking will be one thing. I think you’ll see Lumby put some rules in place in the future. We already have a couple of streets that have some challenges.”

Acton says it will take time to see results.

“We do understand that even something like this is expensive for people to do because you need separate services, and creating a small house in your backyard is not going to be a matter of just tens of thousands of dollars.”

Acton isn’t sure how may lots would qualify, but he expects most of them would be in the downtown.