The City of Victoria has put on hold a pair of building-permit applications that, if approved, would have allowed the conversion of residential units in two buildings into hotels.
Saying the conversion to hotels would not be consistent with proposed zoning bylaw amendments due to be before council next month, council unanimously backed a city staff recommendation to withhold the permits for 30 days.
The decision closes a loophole that would have allowed units that had been used for short-term rentals to continue to be rented out. The bylaw amendments will do the same thing if council adopts them in July.
Coun. Stephen Hammond was the only council member to comment on the vote, noting as sympathetic as he is to those who have been hurt by the changes to short-term rental legislation — banning short-term rentals in units that are not a person’s primary residence — closing the loophole in these cases is the correct decision.
The locations affected by the ruling are The Falls condominium at 707 Courtney St. and 708 Burdett Ave., and a mixed-use building at 529 Pandora Ave.
The owners of some strata units in The Falls had banded together with the intention of operating as a hotel, though most of the 155-unit building would remain as a condominium. A change in occupancy from residential to hotel use requires a building permit. While hotel use is currently allowed in that zone, the coming bylaw amendments that include definitions of what constitutes a hotel would mean it is no longer permitted.
Some of the proposed amendments include the definition of hotel, which will be a commercial use that provides transient lodging to the public accessed by contiguous common space with an entrance lobby open to the public, service desk, daily housekeeping and an attendant on duty at all times.
The building at 529 Pandora Ave. is a mixed-use building with two residential rental units on the second floor and commercial uses at grade.
As the short-term rentals no longer comply with provincial regulations or city bylaws, the owner sought a permit to change occupancy to a hotel. As with The Falls application, in this case the hotel use is currently permitted but won’t be after the bylaws are amended.
The building at 529 Pandora Ave. will not meet the proposed definition of hotel because it will not have an entrance lobby open to the public, a service desk or office with a guest register.
Under the Local Government Act, the city is allowed to withhold a building permit if it believes a proposed development conflicts with a bylaw under preparation.
A permit can be withheld for 30 days, with potential extension for another 60 days.
If the proposed bylaw is not adopted within the 60-day period, the owners of the land affected are entitled to compensation for any damages arising from the withholding of the building permit.
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