Item - 2020.PH16.12

The Planning and Housing Committee:

1. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report back to the January 2021 Planning and Housing Committee meeting on:

 
a.  The current zoning  requirements for parking that apply across the City, including information broken out by type and scale of residential use, and area of the City.

b.  The factors considered in determining parking requirements in the review of new development applications, and how requests to reduce parking requirements are assessed and what measures are considered to address travel demand resulting from the development.

c.  Approaches taken to parking requirements for new developments by other large Canadian cities and comparable cities worldwide.

 
d.  Options for the City to review its  parking requirements for new developments in different contexts, including in areas around higher order transit stations.

Recognizing that car ownership trends are changing and people are beginning to move around differently it would be prudent to examine our existing parking by-laws to better reflect the future needs of the communities in new developments.  Our changing environments include working remotely and an increase use of public transit all having an affect on the City’s current parking regulations.

Many cities like Edmonton and San Francisco have moved towards lowering parking requirements in new developments to allow for more flexibility as they take into account the changing needs of neighbourhoods. 

Ensuring that the city plans accordingly it is now a opportune time to re-examine the current zoning parking requirements across the city.