Proposed changes to Merritt’s home-based business bylaws have been sent to a public hearing after a divided vote from city council at its regular meeting on Tuesday.
Council voted 5-2 in giving first and second reading to a new draft bylaw – titled bylaw 2177 – but then voted unanimously to subsequently send it to a public hearing.
This past spring, a home-based business task force organized by the City of Merritt recommended changes such as unlimited parking at the residence of a home-based business and allowing any number of employees.
Some of the task force’s recommendations made it into bylaw 2177.
One of those recommendations is to allow home-based businesses to operate in secondary suites.
Another is to double the amount of space permitted for a home-based business to use. Under bylaw 2177, the maximum increases from 20 square meters to 45 square metres – doubling the maximum percentage of a home’s floor area for home-based business use from 20 per cent to 40 per cent
of the floor area. That includes business-related storage areas.
Delivery of materials to or from the residence via commercial vehicles would be allowed up to a maximum of 16,000 kilogram gross vehicle weight. Under the current bylaw, home delivery is strictly prohibited.
Some slack has been given in bylaw 2177 to the issue of employees permitted to work at a home-based business.
Under the current bylaw, only one non-resident employee is permitted to work at a home-based business.
Bylaw 2177 would allow for two non-resident employees to work at a home-based business.
The task force had previously requested no limit.
Parking rules do not change under bylaw 2177. Home-based business bylaws will continue to limit parking at a home-based business to one on-site parking space, which is in addition to the residential requirement.
City of Merritt planning and development manager Sean O’Flaherty told the Herald people with home-based businesses are required to have three parking spots.
“If you have an employee, they can’t park on the boulevard – they can only park in that extra spot in your driveway or on-site, on the property,” O’Flaherty said. “So, you have to choose: are you having clients or are you having employee parking? And if you have two employees, you don’t have enough parking for two employees unless they carpool, unless they walk, unless they bike.”
He also said the proposed bylaw doesn’t allow for enough parking for one employee and one client at the same time.
Stipulations such as ensuring home-based businesses emit no odours, toxic or noxious vapour or matter and disruptive noises essentially remain unchanged from the original bylaw.
Also unchanged are the stipulations surrounding signage, and that home-based businesses are to be operated solely by the permanent resident of a home.
Although home-based businesses would be allowed to operate out of a suite under bylaw 2177, a secondary suite business would be restricted by additional stipulations.
Those rules would prohibit employees or customers on-site, home delivery, allow 10 square metres of floor space, and limit the type of business to an office space.
One, one-tonne pickup truck or one, one-tonne cube van are the options for business vehicles. These stipulations also apply to home-based businesses operating in residential zoning areas R3 through R7 and nine – which are medium and high density residential zones, modular home subdivisions, mobile home parks, comprehensive residential and intensive residential zoning.
These stipulations for R3 to R7 zoning also remain virtually unchanged from the current bylaw.
A home-based business is to be contained within a residence with the exception of a horticulture business, which is also new under bylaw 2177.
At the council meeting, councillors Clara Norgaard and Neil Menard disapproved of approving the first and second readings of the bylaw, but changed their votes to approve sending the bylaw to a public hearing.
Councillors Dave Baker and Harry Kroeker said they only approved of the first two readings because they wanted send the bylaw to a public hearing to see what the public thought of the proposed changes.
Kroeker said he wasn’t “totally happy” with bylaw 2177.
Menard disapproved of the bylaw, but also supported sending it to a public hearing.
“I can’t support this. I don’t think it’s the right direction for us to go at all,” Menard said.
Norgaard said she views home-based businesses as incubators for businesses to eventually move into the commercial sector of the city.
Between March 5 and April 2 of this year, a task force organized by the City of Merritt reviewed the current conditions for home-based businesses and compared them to bylaws from other communities in B.C. such as Salmon Arm, Kimberley, Williams Lake, Sooke, Nanaimo, Creston,
Nelson and Sidney.
A city council report submitted by O’Flaherty states the task force’s recommendations predominantly served the interests of home-based businesses.
On June 11, the city received a petition with about 100 unverified signatures in opposition to the task force’s recommendations, particularly in regards to suggestions about parking and employees.
The City of Merritt is looking to adopt a revised zoning bylaw and addressing issues related to home-based business regulations have come up first.
Coun. Mike Goetz, who sits on the task force, said it will continue to review home-based business bylaws for up to another year. He also said members of the public are welcome to give their input on the issue to the task force.
Back on Oct. 8, 2013, a delegation expressed concerns regarding the bylaws for home-based businesses contained in the draft zoning bylaw 2134,
O’Flaherty’s report states. In that bylaw, stipulations for home-based businesses essentially mirror the existing conditions.
Last year, council unanimously approved creating a task force to review the home-based business bylaws, stopping that draft in its tracks.
On Tuesday, some councillors expressed concerns regarding this new draft as being too lenient toward home based businesses.
To view the home-based business bylaws currently in effect and those proposed by bylaws 2177 and 2174, click on part one of the July 8 council agenda on the city’s website.
The public hearing takes place July 22 at 7 p.m. at city hall.
