Skip to content

Huntingdon coach houses put on hold

City of Abbotsford to craft a neighbourhood plan for area near border
10696433_web1_huntingdon-lanes
Huntingdon’s laneways make the area uniquely suited to coach houses, although such proposals have led to some opposition from residents. Google Street View image

Any new coach houses in Huntingdon are on hold until at least next year.

On Monday, council gave staff the go-ahead to work on new land use rules for the Huntingdon area.

That comes after council heard concerns last year from residents about parking and the future of coach houses in the area.

Huntingdon, which has lanes between the backyards of homes, is one of just a few areas in the city where such coach houses are permitted.

Those coach houses had been permitted in the new Official Community Plan as a way to encourage gentle densification of residential neighbourhoods. But last year council denied an application to build a coach house, and Coun. Ross Siemens questioned whether encouraging densification in that area was appropriate, given the distance to other amenities.

Monday’s move will see all such coach house applications put on hold until a review of rules for the area.

If it’s created like other neighbourhood plans, that initiative could include neighbourhood-specific guidelines related to parking, secondary suites and other issues of concern.