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Planning committee forwards emergency small-houses legislation to council
Summary
Planning committee members voted to forward an emergency small-housing ordinance to council for review after committee members said the draft reflected the committee's work and they wanted to avoid a months-long delay for three readings.
Committee members told the Planning Committee that they had completed draft provisions for "small houses" and, to avoid a lengthy three-reading process that could delay implementation for months, moved to forward emergency legislation to council.
"I will make a motion as an emergency to improve small houses based off what the committee has come up with," said the member who moved the measure. The motion was seconded and several committee members voiced support in the roll call; the committee asked staff to prepare draft emergency legislation for counsel and council review.
Context and rationale: Committee members said advancing the rules as an emergency would allow the city to implement the new small-housing provisions more quickly, while others cautioned that an emergency route limits subsequent committee review. One member said they preferred seeing a draft first but acknowledged community interest and a desire to act promptly.
Outcome: The committee voted to forward the emergency measure to counsel/council and requested draft emergency legislation to be circulated before the next meeting. The committee did not adopt final ordinance language at that meeting; staff and counsel review will follow.
