The ownership of a Hastings-Sunrise parking lot valued at $17.7 million is being called into question by the Hastings North Business Improvement Association, which maintains neighbourhood businesses and property owners may have rights to it.
The City of Vancouver, which is on the title for the land, for a women-led housing project as a legacy initiative for last week鈥檚 Women Deliver Canada conference. (Read more about the project )
For its part, the city says it鈥檚 owned the 528-by-120-foot site, which is on Franklin Street between Kamloops and Penticton, since 1964. Members of the BIA pay an annual levy for use of the lot, while the city provides maintenance services and reduces the parking lot requirements for individual businesses, according to the city.
In 2018, records indicate property owners on Hastings between Nanaimo and Slocan paid $210,629.44 for its use.
BIA executive director Patricia Barnes says the association is looking into the site's ownership.
鈥淲e support the need for affordable housing in the City of Vancouver, and we also understand the need for women-only housing, but at the current time we鈥檙e getting an independent legal opinion on ownership of the lot because our property owners and our business owners in three blocks 鈥� 2400, 2500 and 2600 blocks 鈥� are under the understanding that they actually have standing in the lot on ownership,鈥澛� she told the聽Courier聽late Friday.
Barnes' understanding is that while the city is on the land title, an agreement was made decades ago to hold the land in trust for the property and business owners. After the land was purchased in the 1960s, she said they repaid the purchase price back to the city, they paid for construction of the lot, they paid for any upgrades needed, and they鈥檝e been paying a special assessment on their property taxes for the lot for many decades.
鈥淚n 2005, [business and property owners] paid $150,000, so you can imagine how much they鈥檝e paid since 1964,鈥� she said.
Neighbourhood property owners and businesses launched a petition in the early 1960s for land to be acquired on Franklin Street for the purposes of collective parking, according to Barnes.
鈥淚t was agreed to by the city. They expropriated and paid the homeowners of the time for the land,鈥� she said. "That money was as a loan to the businesses and the businesses have paid back that money."聽
Now the BIA is searching for information about the deal with some longtime businesses in the area, as well as through children of original business owners.
鈥淎ll I can tell you is what their understanding was at the time, what their understanding has been all the years that they have been paying a special levy to the city,鈥� Barnes said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to clarify exactly what their standing is.鈥�
Customers of local businesses use the lot, while it also serves as an event space for neighbourhood festivals and fundraising.
鈥淚t provides a gathering space. It鈥檚 our event space, it鈥檚 our community asset,鈥� she said, adding its existence has helped independent small businesses survive.
鈥淎s you know Hastings Street is incredibly busy, incredibly congested. There are parking restrictions on Hastings Street 鈥� that lot really supplies access to the businesses鈥� it鈥檚 hard to survive as a small business given how expensive it is to operate in the city.鈥�
The City of Vancouver, in recent years, has taken steps to discourage car use, including lowering parking requirements for some developments, while encouraging transit use and cycling.
Barnes said the BIA believes in multi-modal transportation, and supports moves to improve public transportation and to create a safe cycling system, but small businesses still depend on cars being able to access their businesses.
鈥淭hat is today鈥檚 reality and, as I said, they鈥檙e struggling, they鈥檙e not making a whole heck of a lot of money doing this and they pour their heart into doing what they do. They still have to cater to the person shopping there today,鈥� she said.
Barnes maintains it鈥檚 important to determine who owns the lot so that discussions can take place to ensure business and property owners鈥� needs are addressed if a development proceeds.
鈥淎ll we鈥檙e trying to do is ascertain who owns the lot. Once we ascertain who owns the lot, then we begin talking. But until we ascertain who owns the lot, it鈥檚 really hard to talk,鈥� she said.
No one from the City of 麻豆传媒映画was available for an interview with the Courier but the communication department stated in an email that the annual levy covers costs such as fixing potholes, curbs and signs, as well as paying for cleaning, snow removal, electricity, maintenance and repairs. It also covers general and other taxing authorities.
The city鈥檚 legal and transportation departments have not found a record of a land purchase outlining the information the BIA has provided. Should records be found, the city and BIA will discuss how to move forward, the email stated.
鈥淎ccess to parking is very important to local businesses and their customers. Before the Women鈥檚 Legacy development can proceed in this location, a comprehensive analysis of parking needs in the neighbourhood will be completed to ensure that the development accommodates the area鈥檚 parking needs,鈥� it added.
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