JASPER – Municipal council heard concerns about parking and private home accommodations (PHAs) during a Tuesday (June 17) public hearing regarding Jasper's proposed land-use policy amendments.
The public hearing will resume on July 8 at 1:30 p.m. Residents will also be able to submit written feedback until 4 p.m. on July 7.
The goal of these amendments is to increase housing density and address the longstanding housing shortage, particularly following the Jasper wildfire, which destroyed more than 800 housing units.
Beth Sanders, director of urban design and standards, told council they were not doing anything that had not been thoroughly researched. She also acknowledged there were many factors required for creating housing besides a strong land-use policy.
“But at the end of the day, when somebody wants to hit go, if our land-use policy restricts it, then it’s a non-starter,” she said. “At a local level, a land-use policy, in our context, is a very important lever to move to remove barriers from additional homes being created once all those other things happen.”
Administration recommended 15 policy changes. The most discussed amendment was removing minimum parking requirements for new residential developments. This would allow leaseholders to decide for themselves how much of their land should be allocated for parking.
Sanders noted that parking was “a really tricky trade-off” since residents required cars, but there were clear examples in Jasper where more land was being used for parking than housing.
“At the very least, we need to revisit how parking works in Jasper,” she said. “It may mean not going as far as what we’ve proposed. It may mean something in the middle, but we know that what we have right now is a severe limitation.”
She added how more housing has been built in other communities where these kinds of proposals have been implemented.
As for the other amendments, Jasper would combine similar residential districts and create general policies for accessory buildings to simplify the land-use policy.
They would also allow for more types of housing by permitting secondary suites in the Multi-Unit Small Lot Dwelling District, permitting garden and garage suites in more residential districts, allowing multi-unit dwellings in more residential districts and allowing row houses along the ground level of apartment buildings.
The remaining nine amendments are meant to increase the number of homes in Jasper. Besides removing the parking requirements, they would also loosen height restrictions in some areas of town.
In the spring, the municipality undertook community engagement about the town values and proposed policy changes to Jasper’s land-use policy. It received feedback from roughly 300 individuals through various formats.
For the public hearing, council received nine letters, and seven individuals gave verbal presentations. Much of the concerns raised were about removing the parking requirement and PHAs being used as short-term rentals.
Coun. Wendy Hall said she understood the fear that decoupling parking could put more cars on the street, but the community needed to rethink parking requirements.
“This is about ensuring that as much building space as possible can go towards putting a roof over someone’s head,” Hall said. “This is about building vibrant neighborhoods.”
She added how many of these changes would not come into effect overnight.
Coun. Rico Damota said it was council’s responsibility to find creative solutions to mitigate some of the parking issues while promoting more housing.
“We need to find a way to incorporate both if that’s the trend, because we can’t tell people you just can’t come here and drive,” Damota said.
Coun. Kathleen Waxer asked about imposing limitations on using PHAs as short-term rentals for tourists instead of housing for residents.
Sanders replied they were focused on increasing the housing supply, and specific rules around PHAs would require a subsequent conversation.
CAO Bill Given later added that council could impose more rules around PHAs through licensing rather than a land-use bylaw.
This was considered a “practice” public hearing since the municipality was still in the process of obtaining land-use authority from Parks Canada, and council will only be able to make recommendations to the superintendent.
“We can make the recommendation, but it’s not us that makes the final decision, so looking forward, what might we expect in terms of the time it takes to get a response from Parks Canada to whatever recommendation council might come up with?” asked Mayor Richard Ireland, echoing the concern of a delegation.
Sanders replied that administration had been working “shoulder to shoulder” with Parks Canada, and the agency was already aware of all the proposals before council.
“Short answer is we’ll work with them to attempt to implement what your desire is as a council, and the lines of communication will be open between ourselves and parks, but I’m not in a position to provide a timeline on behalf of another organization,” Sanders said.
After council finished asking questions, Coun. Helen Kelleher-Empey, suggested adjourning the public hearing until July 8 to give residents more time to provide feedback.
“It’s a big decision to make,” Kelleher-Empey said. “We’re changing our pattern, we’re changing what we used to know, we’re changing the landscape of Jasper. I know it’s not going to happen overnight, but I think even as councillors, I’d like to hear more from our community members.”
Coun. Scott Wilson, the only one to vote against the motion, said they needed to act in order to provide certainty for those currently rebuilding and noted this still needed to go to Parks Canada.
Ireland acknowledged this may be “a critical juncture” for those rebuilding, but he was sensitive to the fact that residents had indicated they felt rushed.
“I’m not sure that we will gain much [by adjourning],” Ireland said. “On the other hand, I would hope that we might gain the trust of the community if we give people an opportunity to have their voices heard.”
