By Angela Brown

North Battleford City Hall quashes parking lot proposal

Aug 27, 2018 | 5:00 PM

The City of North Battleford denied a discretionary land use application that came to council to create a parking lot in a prime downtown commercial area, during its recent meeting.

The city’s administration was against the request from Prestige Ventures Ltd. to create the parking lot at 1201 101 Street, the site of the former location of the Bargain Center/Red Apple store.

“The arguments presented by administration were that it was inconsistent with the downtown master plan,” Mayor Ryan Bater said following the meeting. “With all the investments that the city has been making downtown – that is a very notable property.”

Bater said both streets – 12 Avenue and 101 Street – were identified as high pedestrian-use areas, so it would be better to have a commercial building there conducting business instead.

“It wasn’t appropriate for a parking lot to be located there,” he said. 

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The city’s administration said in a report that while there may be a perception there is a shortage of parking areas in the downtown district, in fact that is not the case. The city is currently incorporating some strategies approved by council to further improve the situation.

Administration said the City of North Battleford parking study revealed there actually isn’t a shortage of places to park downtown. The city’s study shows there are 1,057 public parking spaces available in the downtown area, including on-street parking, and 1,337 private parking spaces.   

The mayor said since there is nothing on the lot now, the city would like to see a new build go up on that location in the future instead.

The city’s Planning and Development Director Jennifer Niesink said there are many reasons why the proposed parking lot is not suitable for this location.  

“Due to the site’s prominent location within the city’s central business district, and the abundant availability of parking, according to the downtown parking strategy, the site is most suitable for a commercial, high-density residential, or mixed-use development,” she said in her written report.

Angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW