It's not the best solution, but changing a vacant residential lot into a parking lot is a start for improving the accessibility to a local senior's centre, city council decided Monday night.
Following a public hearing that heard both support and opposition to the plan, council unanimously approved third reading of an application to rezone a Ninth Avenue property to construct a paved parking lot for the adjacent Elder Citizens Recreation Association.
ECRA leases both the 10th Avenue property housing their building and the property across the lane and has attempted for years to have the land changed from residential to an institutional use to gain some extra parking spaces for their 800-plus members.
"We're looking at incremental improvements," said Coun. Cameron Stolz, who, along with Coun. Dave Wilbur and Coun. Garth Frizzell supported a March application to rezone a Lethbridge Street property to allow for the conversion of a house into a doctor's office. "I thought it was an incremental improvement in the parking situation and also in the beautification of the area. I see this as being the exact same fit - we're seeing an old, abandoned lot that's being improved, beautified, landscaped."
The current ECRA lot has space for up to 60 vehicles and the new lot, to be constructed, paved, fenced and landscaped by the city, would provide room for about 18.
That's not a number that's big enough to make a significant dent in the problem, argued some neighbours who spoke in opposition to the plan during the public hearing.
"An extra 18 spaces won't make a difference," said one Ninth Avenue resident, calling the plan a "Band-Aid."
Plunking a parking lot in the middle of the neighbourhood could also affect property values and would exacerbate safety concerns, others said.
"Would any of you like to have a parking lot put up in your neighbourhood, two doors down from your nice character home?" another speaker asked council.
Coun. Lyn Hall said he wouldn't "pretend to believe 18 stalls was going to alleviate" the overall parking problem in the area, that currently sees ECRA members and program participants parking as far as two blocks away. But getting some of the cars off of the neighbouring streets would address some safety concerns, he said.
The benefits outweighed the drawbacks, agreed Frizzell.
The proposed zoning only permits parking as an ancillary use, so staff have recommended that consolidating the Ninth Avenue property with the 10th Avenue ECRA site be a condition of council giving the application final reading.
The city is also entering into negotiations with a neighbour directly adjacent to the proposed parking lot to sell 1.2 metres of the property that the neighbour's home already encroaches upon.
