All Mitch Selman wanted to do was open up a roofing business in Maple Ridge. Instead, he’s being told he has to renovate his basement.
Selman and his family moved into their Cliff Avenue home a year ago and contacted Maple Ridge bylaws about getting a home-based business licence for a roofing company he’d like to start.
He didn’t count on a zealous District of Maple Ridge bylaw officer adding a pile of conditions to be satisfied before he could do that, even telling him to license his dog and legalize a secondary suite.
“I didn’t know there was a law against having a [second] stove in your house,” Selman said Monday.
“We’re not renting it to anybody. We’re trying to do the right thing by applying for our licence.”
Selman said the requirement to change his house infringes on his personal space and is anti-business and will cost him at least $3,000.
Many families have second stoves in their homes. What happens if a family has nine children?
What bothers him most is the abrupt manner in which the orders were issued to his wife when his home was inspected.
“There’s no compromise with these guys,” he said.
“Part of the whole occurrence is the way this guy comes in and starts barking orders to her.”
To make it more confusing, when Selman took the list of requirements into municipal hall, he was told he didn’t have to do everything.
According to the letter from the district, if Selman doesn’t want to go through the trouble of legalizing the basement suite, he could simply haul out the stove, decommission the suite and be assured that he wouldn’t have to pay double the water and sewage rates.
Except it’s not that simple.
Because the basement was finished downstairs, the bylaws department requires that all the work that was done be inspected and in accord with the district’s regulations. That means he has to get the construction, electrical and plumbing inspected, and brought up to code if necessary, in addition to removing the kitchen sink and cupboards in the suite.
He also has to ensure the wiring for the stove has been removed all the way from the stove outlet to the breaker panel.
But if the basement was legally finished with the proper permits, he would still has to remove the stove and its wiring, as well as the cupboards and kitchen sink and file a discharge document to decommission the suite. Permits are required for removing the sink and the stove wiring, meaning qualified contractors have to be hired to do the job, adding substantially to costs.
That’s why it’s important that future home buyers check with the district before they sign an offer to buy a house, said Liz Holitzki, district bylaws director.
Anybody who buys a house should ensure that permits have been issued for all renovations, she explained.
“It’s just the safest way because they know exactly what they’re buying.”
All that information is available at the front counter in municipal hall just by providing the address of the house.
She said the building requirements and inspections all have to be met before a business licence is issued because having one implies all other local bylaws were followed. However, staff are willing to work with the homeowner.
Likewise, Selman will still have to license his dog before he gets his business licence. That can be done online for $25 for spayed or neutered dogs.
As of Thursday, facing a Friday deadline for either applying for decommissioning the suite or the inspection permits, Selman hadn’t decided what to do.
The letter from the bylaw department spelling out his options came March 22 and he had to have the applications filed by April 5, or face “further enforcement action as required.”