Updated:
Request
On July 19, 2022 the Halifax and West Community Council initiated an amendment to the Planning District 5 (Chebucto Peninsula) Land Use By-Law to review the parking requirements for community centres and recreation facilities.
Proposal
The existing parking requirements for community centres and recreation facilities under the Land Use By-Law for Planning District 5 require 1 parking space for every 100 square feet of floor area as an institutional use, which results in significant amount of parking, even for smaller recreation facilities, and often well beyond the amount of parking than what is needed by the facility.
The proposed land use By-law amendment will consider a reduction in the amount of required parking for community centres and recreation facilities from a minimum of 1 space for every 100 square feet of floor area, to a minimum of 1 space for every 500 square feet of floor area. The proposed minimum amount of required parking could be exceeded if desired.
In 2008, the municipality adopted a Regional Parking Strategy which found that municipal parking standards, for most uses, were the highest of the 12 municipal jurisdictions studied. The parking standards are particularly high in the former Halifax County areas. One of the recommendations in the Regional Parking Strategy is to reduce minimum parking standards. Similarly, the Integrated Mobility Plan (IMP) recommends that Land Use By-laws be amended to reduce parking requirements. These documents will be considered in the current review in addition to community context.
Process
The application will be considered under the Land Use By-Law Amendment process.
Status
Currently this application is at the consultation and review stage of the process where the request is reviewed by internal municipal staff from Regional Planning. Feedback can be provided to the contact below.
Documents Submitted for Evaluation
None at this time.
Contact Information
For further information, please contact:
Mailing Address
HRM Planning Applications
PO Box: 1749,
Halifax,
Nova Scotia,
B3J 3A5
Attention: Mark Inness (Please identify the Case #24482)