Parking conflicts have reached a boiling point in some Coquitlam neighbourhoods and the city is considering revisions to how it allocates stalls for new developments.
Some city councillors are even calling for rules that would require residents to use their garages for parking rather than storage or additional living space.
“There needs to be some sort of enforcement or something that says you have to use your garage for parking,” said Coun. Brent Asmundson. “It really impacts the neighbourhood.”
But a report presented to council-in-committee Monday afternoon outlining potential amendments to the city’s parking regulations stopped short of recommending new enforcement measures.
Mike Dhaliwal, a development planner with the city, said staff had initially considered requiring garage parking but decided against it after reviewing similar regulations in other Lower Mainland municipalities.
“It does ultimately come down to enforcement,” he said. “It would require bylaw officers to investigate how garages are being used by residents. It would be a very difficult approach.”
Many of the issues stem from the widespread development of smaller single-family homes, townhouses and row-houses, particularly on Burke Mountain. The smaller, more affordable housing types were adopted back when plans for improved bus service and rapid transit were expected in the neighbourhood. Since those plans have been shelved, the city is now dealing with multi-car families moving into an area that was not designed for the large vehicle load.
“While these initiatives have generally proven to be successful, there appears to have been some unintended consequences related to the adequacy of the city’s off-street parking standards,” said the report.
As a result, staff is now recommending that the number of spaces for every new townhouse, row-house, triplex and quadruplex development increase from the current 1.5 stall per unit to two stalls per unit.
The city is also looking at no longer counting tandem parking as a recognized stall for secondary suites, carriage houses and garden cottages, according to the report.
Staff will now take the feedback from council and draft a report that will come back to council for approval.
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