Larkin, John, "An Examination of an Accessory Apartment Policy for Dartmouth"

Accessory apartments are a form of conversion which adds dwelling units to existing buildings. Additions are usually made to low density areas such as in R-1 zones where buildings might have unused space. Accessory apartments are built to gain income, to pay costs of upkeep, to provide affordable housing to house people facing housing shortages. and to better use existing resources. Added units can create problems of improper installation, costs of adding units, and the negative attitude of neighbours.

The City of Dartmouth was selected for this study because it has many R-1 zones and accessory apartments have been an issue. Dartmouth's population has remained stable but demographics within the city's population have changed. The average number of persons per family is decreasing while the number of families steadily increases. The number of occupied private dwellings and the number of single-detached dwellings have increased. Target groups for accessory apartments - childless families, seniors, one-parent families, and small families - have all shown large percentage growth suggesting an added unit policy is required.

Dartmouth's experience with accessory apartments is similar to responses from other cities. They reacted to added units after a need arose. Added units are illegal in R-1 zones at present but such units do exist. illegal units are addressed only after complaints have been made to municipal authorities. Many policies have been attempted by municipalities, such as added units for seniors only or for relatives of landowners only. There are several methods of regulation municipalities can use. Zoning changes, permits or licenses, variances ' etc. can he used. This thesis suggests accessory apartments not be permitted immediately in Dartmouth. When the need for an accessory apartment policy arises, a combination of zoning and licenses should be used to allow some accessory apartments while retaining neighbourhood character.

Atlantic Planners Institute

This page and all contents are produced by the Atlantic Planners Institute, an affiliate of the Canadian Institute of Planners.

This document was last modified on January 3, 2001.