Amid growing public pushback, a group of city councillors is looking to pump the brakes on incoming changes to Calgary’s residential parking permit program.
The changes, set to come into effect on Aug. 1, introduce fees for residential parking permits that could cost some Calgary homeowners with three vehicles up to $250 every year.
Under the new annual fee structure, the first permit would cost $50, $75 for the second permit and $125 for the third at a single address, with two visitor passes offered at $75 each per year.
Previously, those permits and visitor permits were free, with the third residential permit costing residents $108.90.
A motion from Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot, co-signed by nine other councillors, aims to remove the charge for the first permit linked to an address where a residential parking permit is required.
“I do think that everyone should be entitled to at least one spot in front of their homes, regardless of whether you live in the inner city or in the suburbs,” Chabot told reporters Tuesday.
The motion also asks administration to report back during budget deliberations with an updated fee schedule to “support the transition to full user pay of the program.”
During last fall’s budget process, council voted for a cost-recovery option on the residential parking permit zones, following a decision by the previous city council to offset the cost of administering the parking permit program.
The move has prompted pushback and even a petition from upset homeowners that will now have to pay for on-street parking, in the hopes city council considers reversing its decision.
“Permit holders have provided substantial feedback to indicate the implementation of the approved fee schedule is burdensome given the amount and time frame,” the notice of motion reads.
However, some city councillors have raised concerns with the motion as written, with other permit types also set to take effect for certain apartments and condos at the same time as the residential parking permit program.
“To expect that it is only the people who are living in a home with a door that faces the street will be forgiven, it’s missing a whole class of Calgarians that are already looking down at paying more for street parking anyway,” Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott said.
Walcott said Calgarians in his ward living in apartments will soon need to pay between $75 and $150 per month under the new market permit program, which isn’t included in the motion heading to council.
The market permit program is for eligible buildings constructed after 1945 that are four storeys or higher, with more than 20 units.
That permit type applies to Judy Jessen, who has raised concerns about the affordability of the permit’s pricing.
“I was very excited when I heard that council was going to look into it and reconsider it,” Jessen told Global News. “To find out that, at this point, it’s just looking at the (residential parking permit program) and not the inner-city market permit; that’s not right.”
Chabot said he didn’t mean to exclude Calgarians living in higher density homes in his motion, and would accept amendments to include multi-residential parking permits when it goes before council.
According to the city, it costs $1.5 million each year to operate and enforce the residential parking permit program.
But Calgary’s mayor said removing the fee from the first permit at each address in residential parking zones would leave a $600,000 hole in this year’s budget.
“To say now that we would not collect that money from the first permit, I don’t know how we’d make up $600,000,” Jyoti Gondek said. “That’s incredibly concerning to me.”
Chabot’s motion doesn’t include a way to offset the costs to the city, but he suggested using parking revenues Calgary Parking Authority collects from its Park Plus Program.
“(Park Plus) has generated quite a bit of revenue for the City of Calgary through a dividend as well as created a significant reserve,” Chabot said. “Obviously it has been operating at a profit… Arguably we could use some of that revenue to offset some of the costs that residents are facing in residential parking zones.”
The motion will be heard as an item of urgent business at next week’s city council meeting.