Saskatoon councillors eliminate minimum parking requirements

Saskatoon city council unanimously voted to remove minimum on-site parking requirements for new developments at a public hearing on Wednesday.

Prior to the zoning bylaw amendment, properties needed a minimum number of parking stalls based on the building size and number of units.

Mayor Charlie Clark said those requirements got in the way of building “badly needed housing units.”

“Developers still build parking, it's just that they don't build extra parking that becomes an added cost, [and] a waste of land,” Clark said in an interview with CTV News on Thursday.

He said properties are still required to have accessible and visitor parking.

Vancouver and Edmonton have had success after removing their own parking requirements, Clark said.

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“I think this is a very important move if we're going to be serious about becoming more efficient as a city,” he said.

Jon Naylor, a member of the Varsity View Community Association, said some residents are concerned about the bylaw change.

Naylor says staff at Royal University Hospital and Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital already struggle to find parking.

“The community, particularly in this area, has a lot of concerns about street parking,” he said.

Naylor said he’s worried inadequate parking will create stricter parking bylaws.

“If this developer driven parking plan does not work out, and we get more on-street parking and conflicts, then the city's plan is to basically punish residents who want to park on the street with heavy reinforcement,” he said.

Karen Kobussen, a senior director with the Saskatoon and Regina Home Builders’ Association, believes the change is “long overdue.”

“The parking requirements have been in effect probably since the 60s, just like everything it needs to evolve and grow,” Kobussen said.

“We need to start seeing more multi-family developments … in places where parking might not necessarily be the most important feature, (like) on bus rapid transit routes; access to walking and cycling paths,” she said.

Kobussen said there may be discussions to address parking concerns in the future.

“I think that there's just another conversation that needs to be had and solutions brought forward,” she said.