Insurance tangle looks to unravel as Nakusp braces for public meeting
By Contributor
The people will have their say in the insurance tangle snaring single-family home owners on the village’s waterfront.
A public meeting has been set to find out if there is a public will to crack open the Official Community Plan (OCP) and zoning bylaws to amend them and allow single-family homes on the waterfront.
A change in the policies and procedures of local insurance and mortgage companies is affecting waterfront residents, with single-family dwellings deemed an unallowable use in the Lakeshore Development zone (LD1), which extends along the waterfront from the boat launch on Nelson Avenue west to Eighth Avenue.
The many single family dwellings that were built years ago in this zone are grandfathered or “legally non conforming.”
As a result, many homeowners were having difficulty obtaining mortgages, and that insurance companies would not provide insurance to the maximum value of their properties.
On Oct. 25 in Village council’s regular meeting, first and second reading on a zoning amendment bylaw, and the OCP amendment bylaw, passed, with the public hearing set for Monday, Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m.
There was “large representation” of 30 people at an Oct. 12 public meeting to see if there was the will to move forward on the amendments, said Village acting chief administrative officer Linda Tynan, and there was no opposition.
“If anything, the message we heard was maybe what council should be doing is in 2012 when you revisit your OCP and zoning bylaw is look at limiting the number of commercial developments,” she said.
The allowable uses in the current Lakeshore Development zone (LD1) include retail sales, hotel, marina, multiple family residential and restaurant. This has remained the same since 1993.
The intent of the zoning bylaw was to ensure lakefront properties would not be developed into private residences, making the waterfront inaccessible to the public.
Adding single-family home to the list of allowable uses means that residential homes can be built on any lot in the LD1 zone. Other than setback considerations and development permit requirements, the change will mean there will be no limitation to the construction of single family dwellings on the waterfront.
