It turns out Surrey's mayor has had an illegal secondary suite in her home after all.

Mayor Dianne Watts had a nanny suite in her home since before she was elected councillor in 1996. The year following her election, she began a rezoning process to legalize the suite by having it meet city bylaw requirements.

"Years ago we legalized it and then we shut it down. But I still pay for it," Watts said Monday. "It's important for us to hold up the rules and regulations."

She said she underwent the required process in 1997.

However, The Leader has learned Watts hasn't yet received proper city approvals for the suite.

Watts was incredulous at first.

"I don't know where you're getting your information, and I'm going to dig into it, because I think you're wrong," Watts said. "I find it hard to believe it would take 12 years to complete a process."

Watts' application for rezoning went to public hearing on Jan. 19, 1998, but because she and another councillor had illegal suites, and there were three other councillors absent, a vote on the application could not be held.

It was left in limbo for a dozen years.

Watts said Tuesday her suite no longer functions as additional accommodation.

"I converted it to my office 10 years ago," Watt said. She had it officially declassified as a suite last year.

The problem with Watts' application emerged after The Leader reported this week that two city councillors currently own homes with illegal secondary suites.

Couns. Barinder Rasode and Tom Gill both own homes with unlicensed secondary suites.

Rasode said Tuesday she plans to have her suite legalized, adding the city is aware of her suite and she pays an annual utility fee to recover costs of water, sewer and garbage collection.

"I've asked staff to let me know what I need to do to make it legal," Rasode said.

That will mean undergoing a potentially expensive upgrade to the home to bring the suite up to B.C. Building Code standards.

In addition, a fairly costly rezoning and a public hearing has to be undertaken.

The prohibitive cost is part of the reason so few homeowners in this city have complied with the rules.

Surrey is home to about 20,000 illegal secondary suites. A further 1,500 suites have the required permits and zoning.

Gill lived in a home in Fraser Heights with an unauthorized suite during his first three years in office. He has since moved, but still owns the home and leases it out to a man on the main floor who rents out the downstairs suite.

Gill pays Surrey an annual fee to cover the costs of extra city services, but says that as an elected official, he should not be harbouring an unauthorized suite.

He has tried unsuccessfully to sell the property.

Coun. Bob Bose points out the city has smudged the lines between legality and acceptability by charging people for properties that aren't legally zoned.

By issuing a bill, he says, the city is also giving tacit approval to something illegal.

All other councillors contacted by The Leader say their homes are suite-free.

Secondary suites are an issue that has haunted this city for more than 20 years.

A report on affordable housing is expected before council by the end of the year, and it's expected to recommend allowing secondary suites in all single family residential (RF) zones.

In a separate proposal, a group called the Surrey Ratepayers Association, is hoping to have the size of RF-zoned properties increased by 1,000 square feet on lots in excess of 560 square metres (6,028 square feet),

The plan is receiving significant push back from other ratepayers groups.

kdiakiw@surreyleader.com