A free workshop offered by the Chemainus Residents Association will take participants step by step through the process of planning and building a secondary suite.
Secondary suites can be a win-win-win for homeowners, renters, and communities looking for ways to address the affordable housing crisis.
So the Chemainus Residents Association—with funding from the Rotory Club of Chemainus—is teaming up with the Municipality of North Cowichan, representatives from the building trades, and financial advisors to present Secondary Suites: Getting Started, an October 24 evening workshop that will cover the basics and let participants ask questions.
Affordability affects renters and homeowners alike, and legal suites—Additional Dwelling Units is the official terminology in North Cowichan—offer relief both ways: for renters, they increase the availability of quality housing; for homeowners, they are a source of income to help meet the escalating expenses of buying and maintaining a property.
“Providing affordable housing options is essential for the health of communities like Chemainus,” CRA Chair Kristi Hagen said. Without a stock of affordable housing, workers can’t find places to live, and businesses suffer because residents are spending so much of their income on accommodation. “That’s a lose-lose,” Hagen said.
Although the free workshop is being organized by the CRA, it is open to anyone in the North Cowichan region who wants to attend.
Workshop speakers, beginning with North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas, will present information about what homeowners need to consider and steps they need to take to get from conception through completion of their projects. They will also outline municipal bylaw and procedural changes being implemented to make it easier to get ADUs approved and built.
For the last half-hour, the floor will be open for participants to ask questions.
“We hope a forum like this will encourage people to consider building secondary suites, adding to our stock of affordable housing,” Hagen said.
The workshop will be held Oct. 24 at the Chemainus 55+ Activity Centre, 9824 Willow Street, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. More about the CRA is available at ChemainusResidents.ca.
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