Residents win rule change for riverside renovations

Homeowners in the flood zone can build major additions without having to move their furnaces out of the basement in all but the most extreme cases after council further softened city planners new rules for renovations near the river.

Residents near the Elbow and Bow Rivers had strongly protested rule changes that would require moving electrical panel, ductwork and furnace out of basement for renovations like a new mud room or garage.

After council ordered staff to reconsider the rules last month, planners revised rules to say that moving mechanical systems would only be required in more dramatic house renovations, waterproof chambers would be OK in others, and no extra mitigation measures would be required for alterations of 10 per cent or less.

The rules still werent clear enough or suitable for several residents affected by last Junes flood. Elbow Park resident Paul Battistella said moving things upstairs would have cost five to six times more than it did to replace all his basement systems.

We have suffered enough, said Battistella, a prominent condo developer.

Its especially hard to rework all the systems in older homes, and many of those would become teardowns, he said.

I certainly dont want any flood protection rules to hasten the demise of a heritage building, Coun. Druh Farrell said.

We need to embed that in the rules so were more conscious of it as an impact.

Homeowners making additions of 10 per cent or greater will have to install sewer valves and above-ground electrical shut-off switch. Fully rebuilt homes in the flood fringe zone are already required to establish mechanical systems above the ground level.

After several hours of debate, councillors dismissed the advice of its planners Monday. They exempted homeowners from having to protect their mechanical systems unless their renovation was expanding a house by 75 per cent or more, and enshrined those exemptions in a bylaw.

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Residents win rule change for riverside renovations