Bradford residents looking to open a business out of their own home are about to have a lot more options.
Based on a report from Priscilla Lan, planner for the town, council approved the final changes to the town’s zoning bylaw for home occupations, during the regular council meeting on Dec. 17.
Those changes are the culmination of an eight-year process and are set to expand permissions for home-based businesses, such as swim schools and music lessons, while also balancing the concerns of other residents such as additional noise and traffic.
Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper praised the support for local businesses.
“I’m glad that we’ve broadened the scope for the sanctity of our home businesses to thrive,” he said. “Canada was set on entrepreneurs.”
Some examples of the changes include:
- Removing the limit of one home occupation per dwelling
- Permitting home occupations in all types of dwellings, but requiring they be in the principal residence of those conducting business
- Permitting more home occupations (teaching, fitness instructions, outdoor swimming lessons, catering, indirect sales, and medical practitioners) while not permitting others (taxi service depot greater than one vehicle, restaurants, and retail stores)
- Permitting outdoor storage of vehicles, but preventing them from occupying spaces needed for other requirements, and identifying the maximum number of off-street spaces that can be used
- Removing the daily limit on the number of visitors, but adding limits for how many can visit at once and over how many hours
- Introducing measures to prevent home occupations from becoming offensive, obnoxious, or creating a public nuisance (such as banning outdoor exercise and dance sessions)
- Requiring home occupations to comply with all applicable local, provincial, and/or federal agencies, regulations, legislation, policies, and approvals
Not everyone was happy with the changes, and while he said he wanted to support the updates, Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano also worried that without more strict limits, some people might “take advantage,” which could “ruin the fabric of that community” by reducing the quality of life and property values for neighbours, especially “the way these subdivisions are jammed together.”
“We need to put some restrictions in place so it’s not a free-for-all,” he said.
In response, Alan Wiebe, the town’s manager of community planning, explained one of the new restrictions added was that home businesses can only receive visitors for 10 cumulative hours each day.
Other councillors also asked about various potential scenarios, but Wiebe explained they were all covered, either through this bylaw or, in many cases, through others.
While he expects enforcement to be done on a case-by-case basis in response to complaints, Wiebe said he and his staff had “fairly extensive” discussions with corporate services and enforcement and they all agreed other bylaws, such as for noise, have the needed “teeth” to deal with issues as they arose.
He also explained the update is written in such a way that restrictions can be tightened by changing other bylaws, which is a faster and easier process than updating the zoning bylaw.
Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu appreciated that foresight, and asked his colleagues to put aside hypothetical scenarios.
“If there is an issue, we deal with that person or a business that’s causing the issue, rather than painting everyone with one brush,” he said, adding it was “about time” to have the update back at the council table.
Bradford first took steps toward the change in 2016, when the town received requests from residents, according to Lan’s report. Following staff reports and approvals from council in spring 2017 and spring 2018, the town held a public meeting in fall 2018, and continued accepting feedback until August this year.
In the report, Lan acknowledges “we live in an increasingly digital world,” and the shift toward home-based businesses and remote work in general was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the time taken to craft the update and assurances from staff over enforcement, Giordano still moved to have a 9 p.m. cap added, but found no seconder for his amendment.
Council approved the update for the zoning bylaw, with Giordano as the sole vote opposed.
