At Huntsville’s General Committee meeting on April 26, committee approved a recommendation brought forward by staff that would see the municipality more than double the cash in lieu of parking fee from $3,000 per required parking space to $7,500.
The Planning Act allows municipalities to charge a fee in order to reduce the parking requirements of new developments as well as redevelopments, with the funds collected being allocated for the construction of new municipal parking areas. The Cash in Lieu Parking bylaw essentially enables development proponents to seek reductions in parking requirements for developments through the bylaw.
Kirstin Maxwell, Director of Planning Services for the Town, told the committee that the Town’s Cash in Lieu of Parking bylaw was adopted in 1989 and staff felt it was time to update it as part of their Community Planning Permit review.
She said staff analyzed what other municipalities are doing and “it’s a real hodgepodge. Nobody seems to have a consistent way of doing it. Most of the bylaws are quite old,” she said.
According to her report to committee, Maxwell noted that “some municipalities, like the City of Ottawa, charge a different fee for each type of commercial use, whereas Mississauga charges a flat rate based on half of the estimated cost of a parking stall in a parking structure.”
Other municipalities compared in the report, charge the following: Meaford: $7,877 per parking stall; Parry Sound: $5,882; Niagara on the Lake: $66,000; Milton: $9,379; Gananonque: $500; Orillia: $4,000 (new development), $1500 (redevelopment); Arnprior: $1,600 and Kingston: $8,000.
“Recognizing that there is limited land on which to create new municipal parking areas in the urban core, cost of land and infrastructure requirements, the fee must be increased in order to offset the creation of additional municipal parking areas. As per the 2019 Development Charges Background Study, it was estimated that the cost of a parking space in a parking structure at the Summit Centre would be approximately $35,000. In the interest of trying to promote good development as well as ensuring that the Town’s fees and charges are not onerous, staff are suggesting the fee be set at $7,500/space..,” noted Mawell.
Although the current bylaw does not specify where and how the bylaw can be applied. “In order to ensure that parking reductions are addressed appropriately, staff feel that no parking cash in lieu option should be available for developments that occur outside of the Huntsville urban boundary,” states Maxwell’s report.
Councillor Jason FitzGerald took issue with the restriction of only allowing cash in lieu of parking bylaw to be applied in the urban areas of Huntsville. “In a time of when we are trying to create more housing, secondary suites, and the possibility of a third accommodation on a property that may be restricted by size and people don’t need parking, we’ve eliminated the potential to create some more housing there. So, I don’t feel that should be in there,” he said.
Maxwell said the rationale is that there is no option for transit in rural settlement areas. “We wouldn’t want people not to provide parking when there would definitely be a need,” she said, adding that it could be amended should council decide that.
“I just think it seems restrictive of where we’re allowing people to choose where to live,” said FitzGerald. As an example, he said an ailing parent or someone with special needs may not have a vehicle per se but could be driven to appointments, etc. by family or through a special service.
Maxwell said the bylaw has only been applied three or four times and it has always been applied to the downtown core “because that seems to be where the lands are the most challenging for being able to provide parking, just because of the setbacks and the locations of driveways and things.”
The proposed bylaw also stipulates that allowances could be made as part of the Town’s affordable housing rebate program. Huntsville Mayor Nancy Alcock wanted to see the world ‘could’ replaced with ‘should.’
In the end, a majority of councillor’s voted in favour of staff’s recommendation with Councillor FitzGerald abstaining.
All recommendations from the Town’s General Committee must be ratified at Huntsville Council in order to proceed.
Don’t miss out on Doppler!
Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox so you don’t miss anything!
Click here to support local news
There is an immutable fact that planners and business owners downtown need to remember.
It is simply that if one lives in the rural area around Huntsville or travels to Huntsville for some reason, the odds are that you will do it in a car (or truck).
The reality is that there is no public transport outside the town core and even what there is is pretty restrictive and slow. Long distance travel is restricted to bus, and maybe by 2050 perhaps, possibly, if they get that new train tested some day, by train.
Thus in almost 100% of the cases, customers come to town in a car. They have no other choice.
If they can’t park near where they need to go and if the parking costs too much or is just vastly inconvenient, then they will simply not bother to darken the downtown doors with their business.
I seldom go downtown anymore. Most of the things I need can be had more on the periphery and with lots of free parking included. Wandering the main street does not do much for me. The stores are generally expensive, duplicated in the surrounding malls and things like that so I only go there if I “have to” and once summer arrives, with its throngs of tourists, I try to avoid the area totally.
Just something to think about when planning.