Parking spots in downtown Kelowna come with $22,500 price tag

PAYMENT IN LIEU OF PARKING BYLAW UNDER REVIEW

KELOWNA – If you thought paying $5 for a parking spot in downtown Kelowna was pricey, how about $22,500?

That’s how much a developer must pay if they can’t (or don’t want to) provide the required number of off-street parking stalls required under the zoning bylaw.

And that number could go higher if the full cost of about $35,000 per stall (in a parkade) is ever applied or the cost of the land underneath ever considered.

The cost per stall drops outside of the downtown area to $7,500, reflecting the construction cost of surface parking versus structure parking, according to director of real estate Derek Edstrom, who delivered a report to council on the payment in lieu of parking bylaw.

Edstrom told councillors the required payments are based on 75 per cent of 2008 construction costs of $10,000 for surface parking and $30,000 for structure parking.

The structure parking price is considered low while the surface parking fee is thought to be a bit high, he added.

As well, there is no room left in the South Pandosy area for surface parking and it will likely next require a parkade and a reconsideration of the current fee.

In addition to downtown and South Pandosy, the payment in lieu bylaw applies to the Rutland town centre and the area between Springfield Road and Highway 97.

Fees collected under the bylaw are held in reserve to develop parking options in the area where they are collected, however both the downtown and South Pandosy reserves are depleted because of recent projects.

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