City studies illegal units in industrial zones

Iqaluit City Council voted this week to have city staff do an inspection of buildings in the West 40 and North 40 industrial zones to find out how many contractors have converted industrial buildings into illegal dwelling units.

Under the city’s zoning bylaw, owners of industrial buildings are allowed to install one dwelling unit in each unit to house a caretaker, for security purposes.

That regulation has existed since 1983.

But Michel Bertol, the city’s director of planning and lands, said she believes there are “a significant number” of illegal apartment units in the two industrial zones.

This, in turn, has led to inconsistent standards that create “confusion and frustration” for developers who want permission to add apartments to their industrial buildings.

“When the city turns down their request they systematically point at all the other buildings in the area containing more than one dwelling unit. It is not uncommon for such contractors to proceed with the addition of the dwelling units without a development permit,” Bertol said.

The city will decide on a course of action only after the inspections are done.