Bucking a city staff recommendation, divided Chilliwack council OK’s metal storage bin on resident’s property
CHILLIWACK — With Councillors Bud Mercer and Harv Westeringh dissenting, Chilliwack City Council on Tuesday (July 2) approved a three-year temporary use permit for a Chilliwack resident who sought to keep a metal storage container in her front yard.
According to a city staff report authored by Krista Goodman, the applicant, Lynnette Parke, wanted council to approve a temporary use permit granting her permission to maintain an existing metal storage bin in the 6000 block of Glengarry Drive, located in a quiet neighbourhood east of Watson Elementary.
City staff had recommended that council deny the issuance of a temporary use permit, partly because the current location of Parke’s metal storage container did not appear to meet the minimum six-metre front lot line setback as required for ancillary structures within the R1-A zone. City staff pointed out that if a temporary use permit were approved, a development variance permit would be required to reduce the front lot line setback. The City of Chilliwack would have also required confirmation, through the development variance permit process, that the metal storage container did not encroach into the City road right-of-way. City staff indicated that metal storage containers were not permitted in the R1-A (urban residential) zone.
The City of Chilliwack received a bylaw enforcement complaint about the metal storage container in May 2023. The bylaw complaint entailed concerns about the overall appearance of the property and container. In response to the complaint, Parke applied for a temporary use permit as a way of bringing the property into compliance with city bylaw ordinances.