City Council directs review to remove minimum off-street parking requirements
At the Regular Business meeting on December 20, 2023, City Council voted to direct Administration to review and make recommendations for the removal of minimum parking requirements from the Zoning Bylaw. This will allow developers, homeowners and businesses to decide how much onsite parking to provide on their properties, rather than it being mandated by the City.
The full report as presented to Council is available here.
What is happening?
In July 2024, Administration will bring forward a Zoning Bylaw amendment to remove minimum off-street parking requirements for new developments. There will still be requirements going forward for accessible parking, bicycle parking, hard surfacing and other similar exceptions.
This page provides more information about the considerations and the current context, and how other municipalities have approached these changes.
Why changes being considered?
A comprehensive review of parking regulations has not been done in Saskatoon for at least 25 years. As other Canadian cities are examining their approaches to parking, and as Saskatoon is reviewing its Zoning Bylaw, City Council has requested that Administration work towards removing minimum parking requirements in the Zoning Bylaw. This is commonly referred to as “open option parking” and means that the Zoning Bylaw will no longer require new development to provide a certain number of parking spaces. The developer, homeowner or business would decide how much parking should be provided based on market knowledge.
Zoning Bylaw amendments to remove parking requirements are anticipated in to be brought to City Council for consideration in July 2024.
What are the expected impacts?
- Developers will be able to determine the amount of parking that is provided on a site.
- Parking will no longer be a requirement for a development permit (with the exception of the noted exceptions).
How can I provide input?
If you have comments or questions about the proposed changes, please email zoningbylaw@saskatoon.ca.
Note: on-street parking is NOT part of this review. On-street parking will be reviewed and monitored to see if there is any impact over time from the removal of off-street parking minimums.