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Yesterday, Regina Planning Commission considered an application to turn the Capital Pointe site into a 1year, temporary parking lot. Application is from the company that *wants to buy* site. RPC didn't say yes. They also didn't say no. They hit pause. /1 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
The proponent, the owner of the Capital Pointe lot*, says they've a plan to develop lot. But for that to work they need 1year of parking revenue to cover taxes & insurance. /2 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
The proponent also says they need the parking lot to prove to their investors in Ontario that they're serious about developing the site. And to prove that THE CITY is serious about development happening. Let's put a pin in that. /3 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
* FOOTNOTE: Re the proponent… I'm not going into detail… Delegation yesterday was lawyer representing a financial institution that owns Capital Pointe lot due to a court settlement. But proponent in city report is listed as a "prospective buyer" /4 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
*FOOTNOTE cont'd: So the ownership of Capital Pointe site sounds like a schlmozzle as usual. /5 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
So, in short, owner wants to build something (something secret) and wants parking lot to cover some up-front costs. /6 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
A second delegation was from owner of several other parking lots downtown. They DON'T want the city to approve temporary parking as they say their revenue due to COVID is down 80%. The market is oversaturated w/ parking. /7 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Meanwhile, the city has an Official Community Plan (OCP) and a Downtown Neighbourhood Plan (DNP) that say in the downtown you CAN'T build new surface parking lots. That's the law. /8 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Okay, TECHNICALLY, you CAN build new surface parking downtown, but ONLY when it is screened from the street by a building. So surface parking can't be the PRIMARY use of a site. Like it would be in the Capital Pointe case. /9 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Despite this, Administration recommended RPC approve the application saying:
• that lot needs to be developed & this would help that
• we have approved temporary parking lots downtown before. /10 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
• that lot needs to be developed & this would help that
• we have approved temporary parking lots downtown before. /10 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
RPC didn't do this. After asking admin a lot of questions, they decided to wait.
See, at the Aug meeting, council unanimously passed this… request for a report about a temporary parking lot policy. Motion initiated by Coun Flegel, seconded by Stevens: /11 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
See, at the Aug meeting, council unanimously passed this… request for a report about a temporary parking lot policy. Motion initiated by Coun Flegel, seconded by Stevens: /11 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
So, Stevens passed a motion at RPC that RPC would hold off on considering the Capital Pointe parking lot application until the report on a temporary parking policy is released (in theory: Jan 31 2021). /12 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Okay… that's more or less what happened yesterday at the RPC meeting. TL;DR: Guy asked for a temporary parking lot downtown. RPC said, we have a report on temp parking coming, let's wait til that's done. /13 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Incidentally, to build a temporary parking lot downtown you have to change the lot's "Downtown" zoning to "Contract" so that you aren't *technically* violating the OCP. That's just a paper-shuffling detail but I find stuff like that really amusing. /14 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Some more context: Since passing the DNP, council has approved two other temporary parking lots. One on the 1700 block of Hamilton and one on Lorne & 11th (pictured). /15 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
I wrote A LOT about the 1700 Hamilton parking lot for @prairiedogmag. It was, IMO, a travesty. There was housing on that site occupied by low-income people. Their bldg was torn down & they were turne out IN WINTER to make way for parking. /16 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Chief concern: It would be used as a precedent to allow more temporary parking lots downtown. I asked the mayor about that. He told me explicitly 1700 Hamilton WAS NOT a precedent. /17 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
And yet, 1700 Hamilton was used as a precedent to justify the temporary parking lot at Lorne & 11th. And admin cited both temp parking lots yesterday at RPC to justify allowing a temp parking lot on the Capital Pointe site. /18 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Personally, I don't think surface parking should be allowed downtown, temporary or otherwise. So I think even considering a policy for it is a travesty. There are very good reasons to mistrust a developer who wants temp parking zoning. /19 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
The Hamilton lot was supposed to be for 3 years. OF COURSE they asked for an extension when their plans to build on the site mysteriously fell through. I think they did get 1 extension (could be wrong) ultimately, admin turned down further extensions. /20 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Today, 1700 Hamilton is a vacant lot. (Remember: it used to be rental units for poor people.) It occasionally gets parked on and collects trash. The promised landscaping to screen it from the sidewalk never materialized. /21 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Lorne & 11th is supposed to be site for low-income housing by Devereaux. That also hasn't happened. They asked for and received a 1 year extension on their 3-year parking temp parking lot (which I think has been there for 5 years). /22 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
We have a system set up to reward surface parking while penalizing development. Taxes for a vacant lot are the same as a parking lot and both rates are MUCH lower than for a developed site. That has to change. How? I'm not sure. /23 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Our DNP is supposed to be fix for that upsidedown incentive structure by imposing a hard, NO NEW SURFACE PARKING rule. But that falls apart if developers know that they can sweet talk council into making countless exceptions to their policies. /24 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
To that end, admin turning the Hamilton owners' extension request down is a triumph. But, by allowing the exemption in the first place, we lost low-income housing units. And people were evicted into a housing crisis in the winter. Just want to put that out there again. /25 #yqrcc
As for the idea that we should allow temp parking b/c parking is in short supply downtown, that's bullshit. Look at how much of downtown south of Vic is already a surface parking lot, it's fucking embarrassing. Look at Vic and Hamilton. /26 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Look at most every block of Rose north of Vic. It's all surface parking. The idea is supposed to be that these lots will be developed once "market conditions are right". We just went through the biggest boom since 1911 and none of it changed. /27 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
And none of it will change as long as its cheaper and easier to hold on to a vacant lot in our friggin DOWNTOWN as it is to develop it. /28 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
The DNP & OCP are supposed to encourage development while also DISCOURAGING creating bad urban spaces like surface parking lots. Allowing new surface parking lots even on a temp basis causes that to break down. /29 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
There are 2 constants in this:
• Developers will come up w/ creative rationales for their new surface lot.
• Residents will complain there is too little parking.
Our policies are supposed to set up a pretext so that council can ignore this noise. /30 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
• Developers will come up w/ creative rationales for their new surface lot.
• Residents will complain there is too little parking.
Our policies are supposed to set up a pretext so that council can ignore this noise. /30 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
"Our hands are tied," council is supposed to say. "You are going to have to figure something out." /31 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
As for the rationale for the Capital Pointe parking lot, the applicant argued that financial markets are jumpy b/c of the pandemic & as a result they need a parking lot to prove to investors they have an income stream. /32 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
They literally argued they need a surface parking lot b/c: COVID.
I can't wait to see what else we're going to be asked to allow because of the coronavirus. /33 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
I can't wait to see what else we're going to be asked to allow because of the coronavirus. /33 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Okay… child walked & fed. Sorry, did I say child? I meant "my child". Where were we?
Right… "I need a surface parking lot b/c COVID!" #becauseCOVID #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Right… "I need a surface parking lot b/c COVID!" #becauseCOVID #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
So, exactly how onerous is the tax on the Capital Pointe lot that the developer MUST have a surface parking lot? According to city's property tax look-up app, it was $45,571 in 2020. #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
That may sound like a lot but I am unmoved. If you have the scratch to pick up a $2mil property and wheel'n'deal to build a multi-million dollar tower upon it, $45k a year is pocket change by comparison. /35 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
If a local landowner has the cash to leave the former temporary parking lot at 1755 Hamilton vacant FOR YEARS while carrying $18k a year in taxes — & earning no parking revenue — I'm sure the owners of the Capital Pointe lot can struggle through. /36 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Just want to reiterate that 1755 Hamilton was TORN DOWN b/c the owner said maintaining low-income rental housing was TOO EXPENSIVE & they had to put up a parking lot to transition to building an office tower that never materialized. But $18k a year for a useless lot is A-OK! /37
Also, when this applicant says "this parking lot will ONLY be for ONE YEAR", how is anyone in admin or RPC taking that claim seriously? /39 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
A surface parking lot isn't free. They'll be installing a gate, payment infrastructure. I suspect some resurfacing will be needed. A lot of work will go into that parking lot. You expect me to believe they'll happily roll it all up after 365 days? /40 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Meanwhile, parking downtown runs from $135 to $210 a month. That's like, back of napkin, $2k per spot a year on 85 spots: $175,950 revenue. Again, chicken scratch vs what will be invested in developing this site. /41 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Why bother going to the trouble generating a measly $175k? Unless you're thinking, "if this goes south, at least I could keep making that for MULTIPLE YEARS?"
Too tinfoil hat? /42 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Too tinfoil hat? /42 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Look… our policies are clear. NO new surface parking downtown. When this developer started putting together their development deal, they should have looked at that & thought: "Parking is a non-starter", not: "Make surface parking lot AN INTEGRAL PART OF PLAN." /43
But of course they knew that council would be willing to make an exception on this b/c we made exceptions so many times before — and not just on surface parking. /44 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
Sure, our Official Community Plan & Downtown Neighbourhood Plans are supposed to be living documents. But that shouldn't mean that through one-off exceptions we end up running business the way we did before they existed. What is the point of these things? /45 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
I have to wrap this up even though, as anyone in my family can attest, I can go on about this until you die of boredom. But… /46 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
A few points/predictions to end on…
• the temp parking policy will further undermine the DNP but council will pass it in Jan 2021
• the temp parking lot on the Capital Pointe lot will be passed shortly thereafter /47 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
• the temp parking policy will further undermine the DNP but council will pass it in Jan 2021
• the temp parking lot on the Capital Pointe lot will be passed shortly thereafter /47 #yqr #yqrcc #yqrrpc
• the new capital pointe development will be held up (probably #becauseCOVID) & council will have to grant multiple extensions to the temporary parking lot
• we will continue to see more temporary surface parking lots go up in downtown than we do buildings. /48 #yqrcc #yqr
• we will continue to see more temporary surface parking lots go up in downtown than we do buildings. /48 #yqrcc #yqr
