City council considers ending minimum parking space requirement on new builds
Toronto City Council is considering removing a requirement that requires developers to build a minimum number of parking spaces in new condos.
Those in favour say the requirement can lead to an overbuilding of parking and that eliminating the minimum will help propel the city into the future by reducing the costly construction of underground parking.
Moreover, they argue the move will allow for more affordable housing to be built faster, and by making it more difficult to park, people will be encouraged to take transit, ride share or bike, and reduce traffic congestion and emissions.
The city hasn’t verified the data but says the Building Industry and Land Development Association showed about one third of parking spots didn’t sell.
“There’s already a trend in the industry, that amount of parking necessitated by the bylaw that is out of touch and is actually asking for more parking than what the market is asking for,” said Paul De Berardis with the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON).
At the same time, a parking space can be an expensive piece of real estate in Toronto. The city said a space in a typical development in Toronto is believed to cost between $48,000 and $160,000 to construct.
“The further down you go to build underground parking the more expensive it gets so this is expensive, it’s also bad for the environment, adds embodied carbon,” said Matti Siemiatycki, director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto.
“As they save money, they will pass it on to the buyer, some will try to put it in their pockets as profit, this is how a market with a lot of units will find its equilibrium.”
But some aren’t convinced the savings will be passed on to buyers.
“I’m concerned developers will say I don’t have to buy that and be selling units at exactly the same cost,” said City Councillor Paula Fletcher in a planning meeting on Nov. 25.
The Federation of South Toronto Residents’ Association (FoSTRA) works with dozens of residents’ groups south of Bloor Street. It believes about 30 per cent of vacant spaces are in the core and then points to Liberty Village where parking is very tight.
“There needs to be a lot more evidence-based research done by people who aren’t vested in the outcome to make sure its a planned approach by the community instead of a one size fits all solution,” Chair Rick Green told CTV News Toronto.
FoSTRA adds without looking closely at the minimums requirements, more vehicles could be pushed to park on city streets.
City council will consider the change December 15.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.