THUNDER BAY – Knowing she’s the first Thunder Bay resident to take advantage of new zoning rules encouraging backyard homes feels “awesome,” says Jodi Graham.
Graham’s mother, Margaret Ager, said a backyard home on her daughter's property was the perfect solution after her husband passed away earlier this year.
She needed to downsize, but wanted to maintain her independence.
“I had a bi-level house – too many stairs for me,” she said. “I needed somebody to look after me.”
“If you can be with your family, I think it’s ideal, I really do. I don’t want to go into a condo, an apartment, [or] an old age home.”
Seeing the city was moving to allow backyard homes, the pair worked with a design firm to draw up a compact, rectangular design featuring about 525 square feet of living space and a two-car garage that would sit near the back of Graham's backyard.
“I thought, I have all of this beautiful property, the city was looking at passing this bylaw… Why don’t we build something here for her to live in?” recounted Graham.
“Because she has her own living space, and she can remain independent, but I can still be able to take care of her and see her – and cook for her, as she likes to say," she chuckled.
Graham estimates the build will cost around $120,000, while bringing water service to the backyard will cost another $25,000 or so.
It’s significantly more than the cost of an addition, but will leave her mother with savings after selling her previous home, and increase the value of the property.
“I think there’s a lot of people who will want to follow in our footsteps,” Graham said. “They’ll have an advantage – they don’t have to pay the city to do a bylaw amendment and have to go to city council like we do.”
City council approved the new zoning bylaw in April, but it won't take effect until five appeals filed against it are resolved – a process that could take months or years (none of the appeals target the rules allowing backyard homes).
Graham and Ager didn’t want to wait, instead applying for an amendment to the city’s current zoning bylaw.
The application, which is supported by the city’s planning department, will be considered at a public meeting of council on Aug. 22.
Once the new zoning bylaw takes effect, residents will simply need to apply for a building permit to proceed with a backyard home.
Devon McCloskey, the city's manager of planning services, said Graham’s application is exactly what planners hoped to see under the new rules – denser urban development and a wider variety of available housing choices.
“We’re excited to have received a proposal,” she said. “It very much represents the form of housing we were looking to allow for.”
She noted Graham's proposed backyard home is in line with the existing character of the neighbourhood, standing one storey high, shorter than mature trees in the area.
Jeremiah Gammond, an architectural technologist and co-owner of local firm Approach Design, started working with Graham on the project in the spring.
He called backyard homes an exciting addition to the local housing market, and jumped at the chance to work on “the first of its kind in Thunder Bay."
“In this case, it’s allowing an elder family member to age in place with family and to live independently,” he said. “But there’s other opportunities as well… for single individuals who need affordable housing.
"This provides an affordable place to live where they can be independent and have their own place, while also giving rental income to homeowners who need that.”
While he expects to see other residents adding backyard homes to support family, he expects most interest will come from developers, who he predicts will see an attractive way to increase density and offer buyers the opportunity for rental income.
“I’m aware of a number of developers who are essentially waiting for the bylaw to get passed in full, with all of the appeals resolved,” he said. “I’m really expecting next year to be a very busy season for backyard homes, and I suspect there’s quite a few being designed right now that we’re not aware of.”
