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Gronk! said:
edmontonjournal.com

Edmonton councillor wants to get rid of illegal parking lots Downtown and speed up development

Edmonton councillor wants to get rid of illegal surface parking lots in city's core and find ways to speed up development of vacant lots.
edmontonjournal.com edmontonjournal.com

I'm surprised that nobody has dealt with illegal parking lots during the past few decades.
Click to expand...
You are surprised? Look no further than any dilapidated and neglected development pits like anything of Regency's or the Arlington and you will see that enforcement of bylaw isn't really a strength and/or a priority for the city.

Can't expect citizens to want to take pride and care of their downtown community if the leaders at the top dont.
 
CaptainBL said:
You are surprised? Look no further than any dilapidated and neglected development pits like anything of Regency's or the Arlington and you will see that enforcement of bylaw isn't really a strength and/or a priority for the city.

Can't expect citizens to want to take pride and care of their downtown community if the leaders at the top dont.
Click to expand...

All these past and present city councillors in the downtown ward could have dealt with illegal parking lots:
Gerry Wright
Lance White
Tooker Gomberg
Michael Phair
Jim Taylor
Scott Henderson
Jane Batty
Scott McKeen
Anne Stevenson

It finally took someone from outside the downtown ward to finally tackle this.
 
^This is on Anne's radar, I have spoken to her about it and Ashley and her have discussed the matter as well.

There has been a moratorium on approving new non-accessory parking lots since the Capital City Downtown Plan was approved in 2010. Some past Downtown planners were very good at making sure bylaw followed up on some of these lots, however in the last 3-4 years Bylaw Compliance has started to look the other way and not pursue these lots even though we repeatedly complain about them. They have to make a case against the owners and it takes a lot of resources, I get that. But I don't really understand the indifference from admin.

Many other non-accessory gravel parking lots do have permits but have not brought their lots up to the standards required, ie landscaping, drainage etc. As far back as Michael Phair I can remember looking into this issue and trying to get something done. It's not simple or easy and takes a lot of political will from all on Council.

There is also the question from some of 'is this the right time' to go after these lots, given the tenuous recovery Downtown is still going through due to the pandemic.
 
Coun. Salvador on CBC radio this morning talking about her illegal parking lot crackdown - 5 minute listen.

www.instagram.com

Ashley Salvador on Instagram: "ICYMI: my interview on @cbcedmonton this morning on unpermitted parking lots. “It’s about making it less attractive and less lucrative to speculate on prime land in our central city without a clear plan or direction fo

65 likes, 9 comments - ashleyasalvador on September 26, 2022: "ICYMI: my interview on @cbcedmonton this morning on unpermitted parking lots. “It’s about making it less attractive and less lucrative to speculate on prime land in our central city without a clear plan or direction for as long as...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
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A good listen for sure, but Kalen nails it with market fundamentals being the real culprit. A lot of this will take care of itself if we had a more attractive place to develop, with lower risk and more consistent demand.

That said, it is nice to see some attention to these decrepit lots.
 
Kalen's stance here actually confuses me. She led the team that wrote the City Plan, where one of the big tenets is for the City to use whatever "levers" it has at its disposal (policy, investment, partnerships, and pricing/subsidies) to enact the goals of the plan; but she's coming across as suggesting we shouldn't bother even enforcing something as basic as requiring a development permit, one of the oldest and most basic levers we have at our disposal?

The "market" isn't an autonomous organism; the City does have influence over it, which is recognized by the "levers" analogy.
 
One of the biggest issues is that you are required to 'hard surface, light, drain and landscape' these lots, but packed dirt is acceptable, as is granules which leads to a ton of dust, mud and negative impacts to neighbours. Don't get me started on lighting and landscaping that seems to get the pass either.

I always use Jasper/99st's lot next as the best example of what you can and SHOULD be required to do if you are leaving as surface parking.
 
60341A90-5BB6-464B-A255-6D79CCC63004.png
 
A pic and choose of surface, UG, AG and everything in between including alleyways.

Not truly representative, but not too far off either.
 
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