Presentation: Off-Street Parking Review

OFF STREET PARKING REVIEW

This report addresses Action List Item C-091-19 from June 18, 2019:

THAT staff undertake a comprehensive review of parking regulations (both cash-in-lieu provisions and general parking) with the intention of better meeting the Town's parking needs now and into the future.

This report will provide background information about parking regulation, and then will make recommendations regarding approaches to a parking regulation strategy which serves to help View Royal reach its Official Community Plan goals in an efficient, effective, and sustainable manner.

The report makes some recommendations regarding possible amendments to parking regulations, and asks for Council feedback.

BACKGROUND

The current off-street parking regulations adopted almost 7 years ago.

• Current regulations are one-size fits all.
• 15% of required parking possible in cash.
• More recently the Town has amended its parking regulations to include electrified space requirements for new residential and commercial development.

Some development contexts often justify less parking provision than our Zoning Bylaw requires.

Incorporating smarter measures into the Town’s regulations would establish better and more consistent expectations for all stakeholders in advance of a rezoning or Development Permit process.

PARKING AS A POLICY DECISION

The traditional approach to parking regulation is to want to ensure that at least enough parking is described in the parking regulations within bylaws, rather than expressing concern that too much parking may be proposed.

While some issues are solved with the provision of adequate peak time demand, the provision of parking can have a large impact on the broader economic, environmental, social, and aesthetic aspects of a municipality.

Parking provision should be seen as a policy decision rather than meeting a minimum functional standard, and should evolve as a municipality transitions from a suburban to urban environment.

Employing Strategy #1 – Changes to Required Parking

• Currently the Town has ‘one size fits all’ regulation
• Town would benefit from identifying different parking standards in certain circumstances.

1. Rental housing requires fewer parking spaces per unit. Lowering parking requirements for purpose-built rental could be considered; it is often recommended that rental units require 0.5-1 space per rental unit, regardless of the number of bedrooms.
2. Designated affordable or below-market housing requires fewer parking spaces per unit. The City of Victoria has shown that below-market units have a 40% reduction in parking demand compared to strata units.
3. Proximity to transit and to regional pathways could be included in a parking reduction allowance.
4. Parking within proximity of growth nodes in the Town, such as adjacent to the Hospital/Eagle Creek, Island Highway/Helmcken, Admirals Walk etc. could be included in a parking reduction allowance.
5. The Town’s recent Land Economics Study identifies reduced parking requirements as a means to improve the economics of mixed-use apartment and commercial development. The Town could consider reducing the off-street parking requirements, particularly for commercial uses, to incentivise such projects.

Employing Strategy #2 – Supply-Side Parking Management

• Town can find more parking spaces in existing environment through changes to defining legal parking spaces, or shared use.

1. Removing the ‘non-tandem’ requirement for suite parking. There is no requirement for non-tandem parking in detached residential dwellings without a suite, and it is a common practise for homeowners with multiple vehicles. It makes for a more efficient use of property and is not inconveniencing anyone except the homeowner.
2. Permitting suite parking to use driveway space within the boulevard. It is an efficient use of an otherwise wasted space, in an environment where it is only used by the homeowner.
3. Permitting suite parking in boulevard space adjacent to the property.
4. Permitting garage spaces to be counted towards parking provision for secondary suites.
5. Shared parking spaces with church/daycare use (Victory Chapel) or during off-peak times in mixed commercial/residential uses.

Employing Strategy #3 - Demand Side Parking Management in View Royal

The Town has been engaged in or has benefitted from managing demand-side parking in View Royal for some time, with varying successes. Some of those include:

1. The payment-in-lieu scheme for provision of up to 15% of required commercial and attached residential parking spaces.
2. The creation and enhancing of regional pathways (E&N, Galloping Goose) to enable active transportation through the Town and region.
3. The creation of bike lanes along collector roads within View Royal, either as capital projects or through frontage improvements and servicing agreements within the development process.
4. The recent creation of electric bicycle parking facilities regulations for new construction, which will hopefully encourage people to utilize the tremendous potential held in electric bicycles and the regional pathways in View Royal.
5. Supporting regional active transportation initiatives such as Bike to Work Week.

A recent parking study by Bunt and Associates has concluded the following regarding the appropriate amount of parking space reduction based on Transportation Demand Management Measures:

Other Parking Issues

• Council has expressed an interest over the years in establishing regulation for visitor parking standards and accessible parking locations.
• More refined regulations regarding locations and requirements for parking in EV charging stations,
• Special interest parking regulations (spaces for families with small children and pickup of online orders, etc).

DISCUSSION

1. Is Council interested in exploring differential parking regulations for areas such as development nodes, growth areas, transportation hubs and other areas which are shown to require less parking than the current minimum standard?
2. Is Council willing to consider reductions in parking requirements for purpose built rental and/or below-market housing land uses?
3. Is Council interested in taking the Coriolis Consulting recommendations regarding providing less parking for residential and commercial land uses to benefit the economic viability of certain projects?
4. Is Council open to amending suite parking regulations as described in this report?
5. Is Council interested in considering allowing shared parking spaces for different uses, such as mixed use residential/commercial properties, or daycares and church properties, and similar?
6. Is Council interested in establishing reduced parking requirements for developments which propose traffic demand management measures such as transit passes, car shares, bike shares, etc?

NEXT STEPS

Staff will take the recommendations within this report and draft bylaw amendments for Council to consider at an autumn session of Council.

RECOMMENDATION

THAT the report dated July 7, 2021 from the Community Planner titled “Off-Street Parking Review” be received for information.