Previously, all commercial uses in our downtown had an exemption for the first 100 stalls required by the parking bylaw. This meant that if the parking bylaw required a business to build 105 off-street parking stalls, the city would only ask them to build 5. Effectively, there were no parking mandates for commercial uses in the downtown core. Additionally, the parking requirements for multi-family residential buildings was greatly relaxed relative to the rest of the city, but still expensive to meet.
By allowing residential developers to decide how much parking to build, the City of Nanaimo has opened the door on countless creative, and even possibly car-light housing typologies in the downtown core.
“Nanaimo’s downtown has been suffering for decades because very few people live within walking distance of the shops. This policy change paired with the new transit exchange downtown could be the key to bringing life back to our city’s downtown.”
This change aligns with the City’s Official Community Plan and Transportation Master Plan goals to foster a more walkable, vibrant, and transit-oriented downtown. The City has a stated goal of reducing the amount of trips taken by personal automobile from its current sky-high level of 89% down to 76% in the coming decades.1 The strategies to accomplish this revolve around improving other modes of transport such as transit and cycling, and building more densely to enable higher walkability. Allowing developers to spend less money and precious land space on parking and more on housing and public amenities brings this goal one step closer.
“Eliminating these mandates is a huge win for housing affordability, environmental sustainability, and community vitality. This decision shows a forward-thinking commitment to creating a downtown that prioritizes people, not cars.”
This vote follows over a year of advocacy by Strong Towns Nanaimo and reflects growing recognition of the drawbacks of arbitrary parking mandates, including inflated development costs, increased car dependence, and underutilized urban spaces. With this reform, downtown property owners and developers will have greater flexibility to determine parking needs based on actual demand rather than outdated regulatory requirements.
Map of the planned future downtown parking-free area. (City of Nanaimo)
Key benefits of the decision include:
- Affordability: Parking stalls cost between $10,000 and $150,000 each to build, inflating the cost of construction which is passed on to renters and consumers in the final cost of building.
- Sustainability: By allowing denser building in amenity rich places, there will be less need to rely on personal automobiles
- Vibrancy: Freeing up land previously dedicated to parking enables more dynamic and community-focused uses such events like the Commercial Street Night Market
Strong Towns Nanaimo extends its gratitude to City staff, Council members, and community advocates who contributed to this transformative decision. We look forward to continued collaboration with the City as Nanaimo builds a resilient, thriving urban core for future generations.
