SASKATOON — Saskatoon city council has directed administration to get the city out of the process of regulating onsite parking.
At the regular business meeting Dec. 20. city council voted to direct administration to review and make recommendations for the removal of minimum parking requirements from the zoning bylaw. This will allow developers, homeowners and businesses to decide how much onsite parking to provide on their properties, rather than it being mandated by the City.
“Removal of minimum parking requirements provides flexibility for property owners to make decisions on how to most efficiently use their own land,” says Lesley Anderson, director of Planning and Development.
“While accessible parking and bicycle parking will still be required, removing mandatory minimums as many other cities have done across North America has been shown to reduce permit wait times, improve affordable housing opportunities as space is opened up for more homes, and also supports the city’s goals for sustainability and environmental leadership by reducing regulations that incentivize automobile use and supporting more sustainable transportation options.”
To support the City’s Housing Accelerator Fund Application to the federal government, at its regular meeting Nov. 22, council approved a motion for city administration to bring forward a proposed zoning bylaw amendment to remove parking requirements from areas defined within the corridor areas and report back to a public hearing in the first quarter of 2024. Today’s decision directs administration to develop recommendations for areas across the city and to bring those forward to committee and council as required.
“Only off-street parking will be affected by the removal of minimum parking requirements. On-street parking and the Residential Parking Program (RPP) are outside of the scope of this review,” says Anderson. “Impacts for on-street parking will be monitored and will be managed separately.”
Engagement on the removal of parking will be completed in 2024. More information can be found at the project’s Engage page, including more background on parking requirements and an in-depth frequently-asked-questions document on parking.
