Dave Scharf, Centretown News
The Good Companions Seniors’ Centre on Albert Street has been renting parking spaces without a business license for several years.The City of Ottawa has given after-the-fact approval to the Good Companions to operate a commercial parking lot behind the Albert Street seniors’ centre — even though it had already been renting 30 of its 92 parking spaces for years without the required business licence.
In fact, at its March 23 meeting, city council approved a staff recommendation that the Good Companions be allowed to expand the number of rented spots from 30 to 57.
“There is no indication of when the practice started,” said a report prepared for the city’s planning committee, though concerns about the centre’s renting of parking spaces arose as early as 2013, according to the Ottawa Citizen. The city only found out through citizen complaints “concerning commercial parking,” according to the staff report, and that it was discovered the “centre has not obtained a business license for commercial parking and that the present zoning does not permit this use.”
Lee Ann Snedden, acting chief of both development review services and planning and growth management, says that the centre’s renting of spots had been going on for “some time.”
A 2014 Citizen story also noted that Ann McSweeney, executive director at the time, was unaware that a business licence was needed. Monique Doolittle-Romas, who became executive director late last year, says she is unsure of the exact date when commercial parking began.
“They (city council) were just formalizing the fact that they were offering a commercial parking program,” says Snedden.
While the city’s approval would permit expanded commercial parking, Romas says it’s unlikely Good Companions will offer much more than the 30 they’re already renting.
“My priority is certainly making sure we have parking spaces for our members, our clients and our visitors,” she says. “So, I don’t see us renting too many more than what we’re renting right now.”
Aside from the initial complaint that brought the practice to the city’s attention, other local residents have expressed concerns about a possible increase in traffic.
The parking lot entrance is on tiny Empress Avenue, which has only a handful of homes before the street ends at a steep escarpment.
Both Snedden and Romas say an increase of 20 or 25 cars would hardly be noticeable in the area.
Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney agrees that, since this renting of spaces has been ongoing for years, giving municipal approval for commercial parking won’t change much.
McKenney adds that she doesn’t have a problem with what happened because the revenues from parking have been, and will continue, going directly back into the community.
“This is for a greater good. This is not for personal gain. This is for an organization that provides health and social service support to seniors in our community,” she says.
Romas says that the centre charges $124 a month for each rented spot. For 30 spots, that would amount to revenues of $44,000 a year. Renting 57 spots would almost double that revenue stream to about $80,000 annually.
Being a not-for-profit organization, all the funds go back into the centre. “This was a way for us to balance our budgets and make sure that we can continue to provide very valuable services and programs to our clients,” says Romas. “That’s why it’s so important to us.”
“They’ve relied on this funding,” says McKenney. “To take it away at a moment’s notice. I didn’t think it was fair.”
There has been some talk about future developments on the land occupied by Good Companions, which celebrated its 60th anniversary last year.
However, Romas says that, with multiple fundraisers coming up, there are no specific plans at this time.