The Town of Newmarket is wrestling with idea of removing parking minimums after consultants recommended the move in an official plan process.
WSP suggested the town consider removing parking minimums on new developments as part of a council workshop Sept. 11. The suggestion is part of efforts to include additional climate change measures in the official plan, with parking reduction being seen as a way to encourage public transit and reduce reliance n vehicles.
But councillors expressed some skepticism and said the suggestion would need careful consideration.
“People will use public transportation sometimes, but they’re not going to use public transportation all the time,” Regional Councillor Tom Vegh said, citing Liberty Village in Toronto as a location where no parking minimums backfired. “When you’re young, you can get around without transportation a lot easier than when you have two kids. Once you remove parking requirements, it’s almost impossible to bring them back, especially once a development has been built, it’s lost forever.”
The town is undertaking an official plan review process, expected to be complete in 2025, that may bring changes to the municipality’s guiding document.
Newmarket currently requires between one and two parking spaces per dwelling unit for new residential developments, depending on the unit type.
WSP director Gregory Bender said the idea is to open up discussion, and removing parking minimums could be applied to specific areas with more density.
“We’re not saying the town would remove all its parking requirements from border to border,” he said, but added that “parking can take up a lot of land. It’s a significant expense that is often passed onto the buyer. If we’re looking into affordability or even more affordable housing, reducing parking can certainly help with that.”
Council made no decisions on the plan review at the meeting, with the workshop focused on information and discussion.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said council would have to find a balance.
“We know in theory less parking means less vehicles, means more transit. Is that better for the environment? Yes. Housing affordability? Yes,” Taylor said. “Having said that, we (have) to balance that with the demand for parking.”
WSP provided details on several “big moves” that could be part of a new official plan, including adding green building standards, a climate change lens, and creating a new structure to guide growth that will incorporate updates to provincial policy.
As far as climate change, WSP planner Nadia Downhaniuk said the policy direction is important "because we understand climate change is a priority for the town and the local community."
Council discussed ideas like encouraging transportation, the impact of electric vehicles, solar panels, building smaller homes and public spaces.
During the public consultation during the spring and summer, WSP had 250 responses to an official plan review survey, 120 participants in community pop-ups for the review, 25 participants to a visioning workshop and hundreds of website visits. Bender said that is a good participation level.
Still, councillors expressed the need for more input. Taylor urged the public to stay involved in the process throughout.
“We need the public to be engaged, to provide feedback, and to contact the members of council with your ideas, your thoughts,” Taylor said. “We have some very engaged residents around certain topics, but we need to make sure we get that broad sense.”
More information on the review is available at heynewmarket.ca/newmarketop.
