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LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS.
Rare duck spotted in Deer Lake The Derek Zoolander of ducks was spotted again in Burnaby. The mandarin duck, as it’s known, has been causing a stir among birdwatchers, since it is not native to North America. Burnaby NOW reader Glen Govier took the attached photo at Deer Lake last Friday.The duck had been spotted in the fall at Burnaby Lake. Some also refer to it as the “world’s most beautiful duck.” “The mandarin, widely regarded as the world’s most beautiful duck, is a native of China and Japan,” explains the website Living with Birds. He’s a close relative of the North American wood duck – something Metro Vancouverites are very familiar with seeing in our local lakes and small waterways.The mandarin duck prefers small wooded ponds, which may explain why it has shown up in Burnaby Lake and Lost Lagoon in Vancouver.
WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL DUCK: A rare sighting of a mandarin duck in Deer Lake last Friday.
PHOTO GLEN GOVIER
Citystaffopposebiggerbasementsuites
Kelvin Gawley
kgawley@burnabynow.com
City of Burnaby staff have recommended council reject a proposal that would make way for larger basement suites. In a memo to Mayor Mike Hurley and councillors, Lou Pelletier, director of planning and building, outlined how the city could change its bylaws to encourage the construction of full cellars in homes.The report came in response to a motion first introduced by
Coun. Pietro Calendino at a Nov. 19 meeting asking staff to examine the issue. Current bylaws lead many builders to construct only partial cellars in new homes.The city’s zoning sets a maximum gross floor area (GFA) in residential districts.This includes the area of all floors above and below ground and accessory buildings, but it excludes crawlspaces, attics and garages. “In order to limit the visible bulk of houses, the Burnaby zoning bylaw also
regulates how much of the permitted GFA can be built as above-grade floor area (AGFA),” Pelletier wrote. “AGFA includes the floor area of any storey that is at least halfway above ground, including basements.” That means areas more than halfway underground are considered cellars and are excluded from the above-grade floor area restrictions, as are accessory buildings. “It is important to note that a builder is under no obligation to maximize
AGFA,” Pelletier wrote. He said there’s nothing stopping builders from reducing the size of the aboveground portion of a home to allow a full cellar. “The construction of partial cellars and crawl spaces is a development choice, which does not arise from a bylaw requirement,” Pelletier wrote. Pelletier goes on to explain how the city might change its zoning to allow for more cellars, despite counselling against the idea. Council could decide to
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eliminate the gross floor area restrictions while maintaining the above-grade floor area limits and, he wrote, it could then limit the floor area for both the main floor and cellar to 20 per cent of its lot size. In this plan, the floor area of any accessory building would be limited to five per cent of the lot size. So why is the planning director advising against a plan that would likely create new rental space in a market with low vacancy rates and high rents?
On larger lots, the plan would allow for cellars larger than the maximum allowed for secondary suites. Pelletier said this could incentivize owners to build more than one basement suite, which isn’t allowed. “It could also encourage greater demands on local services, amenities and parking and could cumulatively affect neighbourhood character,” he wrote. If councillors decide they want to go ahead with the plan, they will have to pass a motion at a future meeting.
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