Considered an affordable option for storage by some and an eyesore by others, a unanimous vote of city council at Tuesday’s meeting aims to allow for broader use of shipping containers.
“I could build a really ugly shed without a permit, but I can't put a really nice sea container on my property,” Ward 2 Coun. Eric Benoit told Sudbury.com following Tuesday’s meeting with a shrug.
The city’s zoning bylaw currently limits the use of storage containers, also called sea cans, for agricultural, extractive, transport terminal or warehouse use, in certain light and heavy industrial sites and as temporary uses.
Benoit’s successful motion asks city staff to amend the city’s zoning bylaw to permit shipping containers within various additional zones, including rural and residential.
That is, as long as they are located in the rear yard, with adequate screening. Rural and residential use would be limited to properties with a minimum lot size of one acre (though a minor variance could be applied for and potentially granted), and only two containers are allowed per rural and residential property.
The chief concern among city council members is the appearance of shipping containers, including Ward 8 Coun. Al Sizer, who called them “eyesores,” though Benoit said he doesn’t have a problem with how they look.
“I originally wanted more opening for (storage containers), but talking to other councillors, not everyone was comfortable about fully opening it up,” Benoit said.
“It’s an affordable, easy option, and they’re a lot more squirrel proof than a shed you can buy from Home Depot and put together.”
Despite current limitations on where storage containers can be plunked down, Benoit said that he has seen them on various other properties throughout the municipality.
Since city bylaw enforcement is complaint driven, he said it’s easy to envision a flurry of complaints about storage containers tying up municipal bylaw officers for countless hours.
Such was the case with an incident called Hedgegate in 2023, at which time the city received at least 111 complaints regarding hedge heights, reportedly the result of one person with a tape measure and an agenda.
By broadening the scope of their allowable use to accommodate some of the currently non-compliant use already taking place, he said city staff should receive fewer complaints.
Benoit’s motion also asks that staff provide city council members with an update on how things panned out within two years, at which time other changes might be considered.
Shipping containers were also a topic of discussion around council chambers last December, at which time Ward 7 Coun. Natalie Labbée pumped the brakes on a proposed update to the zoning bylaw amendment of the day. The proposal at the time was far less robust than Tuesday’s motion, and would have expanded their allowable use to include additional industrial zones.
“I just feel like it’s not fair,” Labbée said at the time, noting that the proposed bylaw didn’t address grandfathering from pre-amalgamated area municipalities or rural uses, which she’d like to see allowances for.
In one example in Capreol, she said a shipping container has been in place at a vehicle dealership since 1995 and has been painted to help with its curb appeal.
“They look nice, they’re out of sight,” she said, later pointing to other positive examples in the community.
In a municipal report by city senior planner Stephanie Poirier discussed on Tuesday, it’s noted that shipping containers at automotive and recreational vehicle dealerships are quite common, with aerial photography revealing them to be present at 22 dealerships, including seven with more than five.
A 2023 report by city Building Services director Guido Mazza sheds more light on shipping containers’ use in the community, noting that they have “proliferated throughout the community, as surplus units are relatively inexpensive and easily attainable.”
“In most cases, the shipping containers have been placed on the property in contravention of the Zoning By-law and are typically being used as storage buildings without benefit of a building permit,” his report added. “The latter presents concerns related to public safety given that shipping containers are designed for the intermodal transport of goods and do not meet minimum requirements under the Ontario Building Code related to life safety requirements.”
There have been public complaints related to the use of unmodified shipping containers, “which are often unscreened and visible from public roads and residential areas.”
Since September 2010, seven of eight applications submitted to permit shipping containers on a permanent or temporary basis have been denied by city council. There have been an additional 16 applications where one or more shipping container was found to be present following a site visit. The typical practice is for the city to require these containers be removed as a condition of approval.
In the municipal report tabled for Tuesday’s city council meeting, it’s noted that shipping container regulations vary widely across Ontario. Some municipalities don’t regulate them at all, some permit them in all zones subject to standards, some permit them as accessory uses in certain zones, and others are even more restrictive.
Even in cases where storage containers are allowed in municipal zoning, they’re subject to the same building permit requirements as other structures, “to address life safety concerns including proper ventilation, structural safety, explosion protection, adequate access and egress, proper anchorage, snow loading and other matters,” according to Poirier’s report.
On this front, existing shipping containers that were established without building permits and/or are not compliant with the zoning bylaw will continue to be assessed by bylaw officers on a largely complaints-driven basis.
Although Benoit’s motion passed with flying colours during Tuesday’s city council meeting, staff still need to draft a bylaw amendment to be voted on during a future city council meeting. However, given Tuesday’s unanimous support, it appears highly likely it will be ratified when it comes time to vote on the bylaw amendment.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.