Council will hold a public hearing for a zoning amendment application to allow a permanent metal shipping container on a city residential lot.
While the current bylaws do not allow shipping containers on city residential lots, there was extensive discussion amongst the council at the regular council meeting on April 9 around using the case, involving a property in the Glendale, as a “litmus test” of sorts.
Shipping containers have become popular around the world as ready-made structures, however there is not necessarily a standard in production of the containers. The net import of goods to North America has been making it more worthwhile for companies to sell the containers here rather than paying to ship them back empty, even more so since demand for the containers has increased their value here.
The applicant is seeking to add the use of a permanent metal shipping container on a property, which is currently in place without the required permits or approvals from the city.
The structure, which had been added to, has been the source of discussion at more than one council meeting, with the applicant already having hired an engineer to certify the structure as safe.
It first came to council April 4, 2023, after which council directed staff to work with the owners to find a solution to avoid enforcement and bring the property into compliance through zoning amendment and building permitting after the fact.
However, while the building code requirements are now satisfied, the structure is still technically against city zoning rules, and staff said they can’t pick and choose which bylaws to enforce.
“Staff does not have the leeway to go rogue,” said Gary Deane, the city’s building inspector, noting the city is limited by provincial legislation.
Council voted to receive the application and gave first and second reading to the bylaw. Staff will now issue a notice of the application to surrounding property owners and tenants within a 100-metre radius of the property and a public hearing has been scheduled for April 30 at 6 p.m. at city hall.
Should the proposed amendment fail, the resident would need to remove the container from the property.
Staff had expressed concerns around permanent shipping containers not fitting the “form and character of residential zones.”
Following a discussion about the potential for shipping containers in residential neighbourhoods, council said it will highlight the issue during its upcoming Official Community Plan update, which is required to be completed by the end of 2025.
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