Zoning
Parking Standards Review
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Parking Standards Review
Parking Standards Review looks at a potential approach that seek to eliminate or reduce parking minimums in some areas of the city, as well as introduce new requirements such as parking for electric vehicles.
In 2022, a comprehensive review of the City’s Parking Standards was initiated. This review is necessary to ensure that when new or expanded buildings are being planned and constructed, the type, amount and design of the associated parking is in alignment with the City’s vision for growth and development.
Cities across North America are increasingly adopting more progressive approaches for establishing parking requirements that take into consideration issues such as environmental impacts, cost and affordability, climate change, and the need to reduce auto dependency and associated impacts. Parking standards are also being extended to better reflect different aspects of mobility including active transportation (i.e. walking and cycling), accessible parking, shared mobility (I.e. rideshare), micro-mobility, and electric vehicle charging.
Parking standards, or parking requirements, are a tool within the City’s Zoning By-laws that regulate the provision of parking for new development or redevelopment. Parking Standards are set out in the City’s Zoning By-laws.
As an example, if someone is currently planning to build a new 100 unit apartment building in the City, they would need to provide a minimum of one space for each unit. In some areas of the City such as the former municipalities of Ancaster and Glanbrook, they would need to provide two spaces per unit plus additional parking for visitor spaces. In the Downtown and Transit Oriented Zones, the amount required would be less than one space per unit.
Historically, as is the case with most other municipalities, parking requirements in Hamilton have been established to ensure that developments provide sufficient parking to satisfy peak demands for parking. This approach was based on the objective of minimizing parking spill-over into residential areas, and also places the responsibility on individual developments to bear the cost of parking supply. In some instances, this practice has resulted in providing an over-supply of “free” parking that has contributed to auto-oriented land use planning and increased auto dependency. Surplus surface parking can take up large areas of land surrounding retail, office and high-density residential developments that could be put to more efficient use with lower impacts on the environment.
A Framework for Updated Parking Standards
In August 2023, Council considered a report which outlined potential changes to the City’s Parking Standards and directed staff to engage with the public and stakeholders on the proposed changes. Key directions that are proposed as the basis of new parking standards include the following:
- Adopt a geographical-based approach for establishing parking standards which reflects the diverse land use and mode availability/choice that exists across the City;
- Eliminate minimum parking requirements for developments within areas that are highly transit supportive and are planned to accommodate higher density mixed use development;
- Maintain minimum parking standards in other areas, but at lower rates to provide greater flexibility and more affordable housing options;
- Expansion of the use of parking maximums;
- Introduce requirements to ensure developments are electric vehicle ready;
- Eliminate residential boulevard parking; and,
- Maintain or enhance standards for accessible parking.
Proposed Geographies for Parking Standards
The City of Hamilton is a geographically diverse city comprised of historical towns and neighbourhoods, older suburban neighbourhoods, emerging transit-oriented areas, newer subdivisions, rural areas.
A four zone system has been identified for specifying parking requirements. It is proposed that minimum parking requirements for residential uses be eliminated for Zone A (Blue zone) and lowered for all remaining zones.
Documents & Reports
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