Zoning Bylaw Rewrite

Timelines are subject to change, but we anticipate presenting the proposed bylaw in August, which will trigger the formal consideration process, including a public hearing. We are targeting adoption by the end of the year.

Thanks for bringing this up — financing is a common challenge for homeowners interested in building suites. While the City does not offer any loan programs for the creation of suites (or any other forms of housing), we do have housing development incentives that may help reduce your upfront costs. Specifically, for living or garden suite, you may be eligible for:

• A waiver of Development Cost Charges (worth $2,185 per suite), and
• A grant equal to the permit and inspection fees, up to $5,000 per suite and $10,000 per property.

You may also want to check out Yukon Housing’s Municipal Rental Construction Program, which provides additional incentives for building rental suites.

As far as low interest loans go, we’re not aware of any specifically for building suites at this time, but you can check the Yukon Housing Corporation and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) websites to see what financing programs and other resources are available.

Thanks for your comments—we hear the concern and appreciate the feedback.

The RMH zone was drafted to support higher-density residential development, typically in the form of apartment buildings. The thinking was that apartments can make the most efficient use of land at this density level. We recognize that other building forms may in some cases offer comparable densities with different cost implications. While the current intent is to distinguish this zone from lower-density zones, we'll consider all input as we finalize the bylaw. Feedback like yours helps us understand how these regulations affect real projects on the ground, and we will review whether a broader range of housing forms should be permitted in this zone.

Thank you for these questions and comments! To answer your three questions:

1. Is it permitted to have two living units within one Garden Suite

Our intent with the garden suite regulations is that two garden suite units could be attached to each other. Each would count as an individual garden suite, so that would max out the number of suites (living or garden) you’re allowed on a lot. In looking again at the draft regulations, the ability to have two attached garden suite units is not super clear, and we will look to revise the wording on that to make it clearer. Under the proposed Short-Term Rental (STR) regulations, only one of the garden suites would be allowed to be operated as an STR. 

2. If I operate an STR in a garden suite on the property where I live, could I also operate my own residence as an STR while I’m away?

No, under the proposed Short-Term Rental regulations, only one STR would be allowed per residential property. However, you could still rent out your home for periods of 30 days or more—this wouldn’t be considered an STR and would allow the home to be occupied while you’re away.

3. Would an STR count towards the total number of businesses allowed on a property?

In the current Zoning Bylaw, there’s a limit of two home-based businesses (HBBs) per residential dwelling (not per lot—each dwelling can have two HBBs). The new bylaw takes a different approach: there would be no limit on ‘Level One’ HBBs (those limited to office-type uses), so you and other residents of your dwelling could run multiple businesses from a home office. More intensive HBBs—such as those involving client visits or use of a garage or accessory building—would still be limited. But STRs or Bed and Breakfasts are treated as separate uses from HBBs and would not count toward the number of HBBs allowed.

Thanks for your input! Yes, we are proposing to reduce parking requirements in targeted areas and for targeted development types. The reduction to 1 space per 2 dwellings would apply within the area identified in the Official Community Plan as the ‘Urban Core’, which includes Riverdale, Takhini and Valleyview. For low-density residential areas outside the Urban Core—including Copper Ridge/Granger, Porter Creek, and Whistle Bend—the parking calculation would remain generally the same at 1 space per dwelling. The proposed reductions in those neighbourhoods would apply to Urban Centres (areas with commercial zoning that could provide housing in addition to commercial uses), as well as a modest reduction for housing in multiple housing zones to 0.8 spaces per dwelling. We’re also proposing that living and garden suites would not require parking spaces.

The goal of these reductions is to offer more flexibility for developers to determine how much parking is appropriate based on the specific needs of their project. We don’t expect that all developers will reduce their parking to the minimum, but rather can base their parking provision on balancing the market demand for both housing and parking, rather than simply meeting a zoning requirement.

It’s possible that reduced on-site parking may lead to greater use of on-street parking, though this is expected to occur gradually as new developments are built. To respond to this, the City may need to take a more active role in managing on-street parking. Potential tools include pay parking, time limits, or parking permits, as well as enhanced enforcement.

The Traffic Bylaw already regulates traffic related matters including stopping in lanes and parking distance from hydrants and stop signs. Violations can be reported to Bylaw Services. 

Thanks for your question. The landscaping requirements in the draft Zoning Bylaw are intended to align with Firesmart principles. Some of the proposed changes include:

• No longer encouraging coniferous trees
• Where new coniferous trees are planted, they must be a minimum of 10 m from any principal building, including principal buildings that could be developed on an adjacent lot under current zoning regulations. 
• New trees and shrubs of any type must be planted a minimum of 1.5 m from any principal building
• No longer listing mulch as an acceptable ground cover

You can find the specific wording in sections 4.29 and 4.30 of the draft Zoning Bylaw. 

The landscaping regulations in the proposed bylaw are designed set a minimum landscaping standard that does not conflict with Firesmart principles, however there are many things you can do to your property beyond what’s described in the draft Zoning Bylaw to reduce the risk to your home and property. We encourage you to book a free Firesmart Home Assessment to assess your property for specific wildfire exposure hazards and provide a report that outlines actions you can take to reduce the impact of a wildfire on your property. Visit Whitehorse.ca/firesmart to learn more!

Hi Janelle, great questions! 

1. Yes, under the proposed regulations a short-term rental could be operated in a living or garden suite full-time throughout the year, provided the operator lives in the principal dwelling on the same lot. The operator could either use a living or garden suite as full-time, or use their own dwelling while they’re away (up to 6 months/year), but not both. 
2. The purpose of 5.23(1)(c) is to ensure the operator actually lives on the property as their primary residence. This allows the home to be offered for rent as a short-term rental while the operator is away (the traditional ‘home sharing’ model), but prevents using the principal dwelling as a short-term rental year-round, in which case it wouldn’t really have a primary resident at all.
   
   The proposed definition of short-term rental (in Section 3 of the draft bylaw) provides a bit more context on the primary residence requirement: “primary residence means the dwelling unit where the operator ordinarily resides, makes their home, and conducts their daily life, and which is the address used for legal, tax, and identification purposes. An operator may have only one primary residence at a time.”
   
   So between the definition and the regulations, the purposes are to ensure that:
   1. Every property in a residential zone has a residential use (not used solely as short-term rental)
   2. The operator lives on the property where the short-term rental is being operated
   3. A person does not operate more than one short-term rental in a residential zone

Hope that helps!

Hi there, thanks for the question. Actually, your information is a little out of date – in April 2024 City Council adopted amendments to the current Zoning Bylaw with the goal of enabling more housing throughout the city. These amendments include allowing up to four units per lot in all urban ‘single detached’ zones (zones that had traditionally been reserved mainly for single detached housing). There’s an important exception for attached dwellings (e.g. duplex with each unit on a separate fee simple lot), where only one principal dwelling and up to two suites (living and/or garden) can be provided on each lot. We didn’t ask about it in the survey because those regulations are already in effect – we’re just proposing to carry them through into the new Zoning Bylaw. 

You can read more about the new housing regulations and what you need to consider before jumping in on our Guide for Developing Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing, available on this project page and also at Whitehorse.ca/developmentforms. 

Thanks for your question! The proposed regulations for Short-term Rentals (STRs) would allow the operation of a STR in a garden suite in residential zones, including the RC1 and RC2 zones, subject to the following:

• Primary residence requirement: the principal dwelling on the same property must be the operator’s primary residence
• Full-time STR in a suite: An STR in a living or garden suite could be operated year-round, provided the primary residence requirement is satisfied
• One STR per lot: the maximum of 1 STR per lot means that if you are using the garden suite as an STR, you couldn't also operate the principal dwelling as an STR while you are away, and vise versa

Note that these regulations are not presently in force and may be amended prior to presenting to City Council for consideration of adoption. Please be sure to tell us what you think about the draft regulations by attending one of our engagement events and completing the survey!

Thanks for your question! The short answer is yes, residential lots in Riverdale are able to develop both a living suite (which could be in the basement, but doesn’t have to be) and a garden suite. The zoning amendments passed by Council in April allow development of up to four units in all urban ‘single housing’ zones, of which two units can be living or garden suites. 

All developments must comply with the development regulations of the Zoning Bylaw with setbacks, site coverage, building height, and landscaping requirements being the same or similar to what’s allowed for a single detached house in the same zone. There is a relaxation for parking if you build two suites. 

If you’re interested in developing additional units on your residential property, we encourage you to attend one of our upcoming webinars, where we will provide an overview of the new housing regulations, discuss some design considerations, and be available for questions and comments. Follow the registration link on the Engage post if you’d like to attend.