Calgary may have a reputation for cowboy capitalism, but when it comes to renting out residential parking spaces, it’s not quite anything goes.
The rationale for seeking, or selling, a parking space on Kijiji is clear enough. Colliers International’s 2011 survey [PDF] found Calgary had the second most expensive parking in North America. Although the practice violates the city’s land use bylaw, many people aren’t aware of this regulation, and officials acknowledge it’s rarely enforced. So why does it exist?
Section 119 of the bylaw states that, "Motor vehicle parking stalls must be used and made available only for the purpose for which they were approved." Since residential parking spaces are approved only for use by the residence—either its occupants or their visitors—renting out a garage or driveway doesn’t comply with the intended purpose and runs afoul of zoning regulations. A rented space becomes, in effect, a parking lot, something that’s only allowed in commercial or industrial districts, and is punishable by a $3,000 fine.
There’s a substantial gap, however, between theory and practice. It’s not clear if the city’s ever issued a single fine for this infraction, since it’s only enforced on a complaint basis.
Mark Sasges, the city’s chief developer and land use planner, says Calgary takes this approach because it receives very few complaints. That policy could change, he adds, if it becomes clear Calgarians expect more aggressive enforcement.
In the eyes of urban planning consultant Peter Schryvers, the trade in residential parking he’s witnessed from his home in the Beltline is a simple case of supply meeting demand—even if that’s not the supply’s designated use. So long as inner city apartment buildings are required to provide one parking space for each unit—dropping to 0.9 spaces for buildings with 40 units or more—he doesn’t believe there’s much the city can do to stamp this practice out.
"If you’re going to have a situation where you require residential buildings to provide parking, and those residential buildings are nearby a commercial district that has a high need for parking, you’re going to have it, no matter what happens," he says. "So in my opinion, it’s almost better to accept the fact that there’s going to be a free market, and then remove the barriers to that."
Schryvers doesn't believe the city should adopt a completely laissez-faire approach on parking regulation, but he doesn't think the bylaw makes much sense in certain cases either. It's not very efficient, he argues, to prohibit churches or office buildings from renting out spaces that sit empty much of the time. And if the city relaxed its parking requirements for condo projects, he believes these could find buyers without causing parking to spill over onto the street, something the rental restriction's intended to prevent.
"If I'm going to build a condo that's surrounded for five blocks in every direction by streets that have parking meters on them, there's not much of a threat of residents parking on the streets all the time because it's too expensive," he says. "The people buying those condos know very well that they can't basically park on the street, so you would market to people without cars."
Don't expect the city to make this change any time soon, however. Although concerns about insufficient parking arise with most new developments, Sasges has never heard anyone suggest there may sometimes be an excess of it.
"Neighbourhoods generally provide comments that say, 'Make sure they meet the minimum requirements,'" he says. "If there's a concern about a relaxation from a community, it's generally, 'Have a development provide the minimum parking, or more.'"
Although the city recently posted a reminder on its news blog that renting residential parking spaces is illegal, the issue seems to have drawn little attention from city council.
Ald. John Mar was surprised to learn this rule exists, even though the Downtown and Beltline communities he represents are among those where it’s most commonly flouted. Meanwhile, Ald. Druh Farrell, whose ward also covers part of downtown, says she’s received some complaints about illegal parking rental from constituents, but more about the unlawful sale of visitor parking passes, which she considers a different issue.
The driving force behind both such practices, of course, is the high cost of parking downtown. But this isn't something the city can do much about, at least without unleashing consequences that, in Farrell's opinion, would be far worse.
"The marketplace, it determines the price," she says. "If we had everybody who wanted to come downtown in a single occupancy vehicle, we would have gridlock in our downtown streets."
